Coming to Grips with Technology

Yesterday, as the Red Line pulled out of the tunnel heading north, I tuned into something that happens everyday but, until now, I had never closely examined. Everybody from a 13 year old girl to a 65 year dotard pulled out their cell phones to check for messages and make calls. It happened in an instant and yet its intensity was so great that it made me cringe. One moment, silence, and then the abrupt sound of 20 cell phones being whipped out and then a multitude of calls being made. "Hey, just out of the tunnel." "What's for dinner tonight?" "I ain't doing shit!" "Drinks tonight at 8?"

This bothered me and the fact that it bothered me bothered me. If I'm not making any sense it's because I don't understand it myself. The hilarity of it all is that I am partly paid to seek out, evaluate, and implement technologies such as cell phones, Blackberrys, etc. Yet, there are inherent things about these technologies and, more specifically, the way that people use them that flinch me every time. Maybe part of what bothers me is that I use these devices myself. And I am very conscious of every time I whip these things out in public. I never use my laptop on airplanes. I try to never whip out my cell phone in public and when I need to make a call I try to ferret out a remote corner as if I were engaging in an illegal drug deal instead of a telephone call. I ditched the ubiquitous Ipod earphones the minute I got them and exchanged them for more cheap looking ear cans. (This, however, might be quite justified now. Muggers in the UK are wising up and realizing Ipods have a very good resell value and the pure white earphones make then an easy target to catch. Article here.)

And with the MP3 player comes another quandary. I love the privacy that head phones give me while commuting and yet I feel that I should probably be more of a social traveler. But I justify myself because (1) I'm a misanthrope by nature and (2) I know I'm not missing much. I commuted most of my life without a portable stereo and my ride is much more enjoyable with music. So I don't think I'm missing much by ditching people and retiring into my music player. But yet, the drove and drove and drove of commuters with earphones is a bit frightening. Are we doomed to turn into a society of technology weilding commuters? With wireless connections become more and more available, will the train turn into a second office for some of us? Perhaps. And, sadly, I'll probably be along for the ride.