ipods, cellphones, and social disconnect...

I must say...when I first saw this, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Apparently the person who is wearing this laptop privacy sweater sees the need for privacy while working on her laptop in a public space. The creator of this sweater actually knitted this as a fun commentary on how attached we are to our technology.

Our dependence on our technology seems increasingly evident. We often times view technology as a way to bring people closer together. We've all heard the term global village, in reference to the fact that with the technology and communication advances we have these days, people can communicate as easily through phone, email, skype, twitter, etc as they can in person. The problem is, as we rely on these technological advances, it seems as though we're removing ourselves from the actual day-to-day human interactions necessary for social development and retreat to a world of virtual interactions.

I notice, everytime I'm on a bus, or waiting in line at the DMV, that people have their ipods on and are in their own little worlds. A few years ago, when I was a freshman and ipods weren't as popular (I know...i'm old), people spoke to each other on the bus. Random strangers sitting across from each other would randomly stike up conversations about the weather, that book that they're reading, or some other small talk to while away the time. These days people are in the same situations, on the bus or waiting in line, yet those white earbuds function as a social do not disturb sign. It seems like the human interactions we're used to on a daily basis have diminished in the last few years as we rely more heavily on our tech to get us by our day.

We seemingly retreat into our own little world as we use our ipod/cellphone/laptop. Sometimes this manifests itself into something more concrete, and even potentially dangerous. A study by the Transportation Institute at Virginia Tech released last month concluded that texting while driving increases your risk of an accident by 2,300%. In otherwords, you're 23 times as likely to get into an accident while texting, which is one of the primary reasons 14 states (including CA) have passed driving and texting bans. Texting creates a very real distraction that puts you, as MSNBC calls it, the moron setting. Texting is causing an increasing number of people to hurt themselves by walking into or tripping over obstacles. A few weeks ago, 15-year-old Alexa Longueira fell into an open manhole while texting and walking down the street in Staten Island.

The more we focus on being connected through technology, the more distant we get from people. Instead of calling or emailing someone, try meeting with them in person. The next time you're on the bus, instead of plugging in your headphones or going on the phone, try stiking up a conversation with someone. You never know where that may lead.