Puppets on Earbuds

It was necessary for me to go downtown Toronto the other day. Now I don't take the car because of traffic and the parking costs. I hopped on the subway. Of course the subway is not nearby, so I drove to Fairview Mall, parked the car and climbed aboard. Provided it does not make any unscheduled stops (for repairs!) it is not a bad trip.

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It was kind of a banner day for me as Maureen texted me and I was able to reply as the train "streaked" south to the city centre. I usually bring a book to read, but I find mentally writing scenarios of the various characters I see, is far more entertaining. One thing was clear. Almost everyone on my car was plugged into a phone and the thumbs were merrily dancing. I had to ask myself, as I responded to Maureen's text, 'Are we all becoming puppets on a string?' Everyone within my parameter or visual boundary, had wires hanging our of their ears. They were truly 'connected' but, are they becoming technology addicts?

As I gaze around the top of my desk at home I see two KOBO readers, an iPod and an iPod Touch, a Samsung Galaxy phone and my MacBook Pro. I think they might define Technology Addiction as being overly obsessive with devices and their applications!!!

First we were wired and now we have become un-wired and, like so many things in life, all these goodies have crept into our lives. Remember back in 1995 when the Internet was seen as the new mainstream of communication, even for the general public? Now we can interact anytime from anywhere including out of the office, when driving, at the dinner table, in bed and even on vacation. Some have tried declaring a digital sabbath and others no longer bother to 'drain their emails' first thing in the morning.

Where it starts to get dangerous, in my humble opinion, is when we see a huge change in someones behaviour, from a healthy use of technology, to its abuse. We all understand alcohol or drug abuse.We call them addictions.  Remember the "Crackerry" comment regarding the popularity of the Blackberry? When a persons thoughts and behaviours are so dominated by the use of technology they just can't stop! That's when it creates conflict with others and seriously reduces the amount of time spent with family or leading to stress and exhaustion in the workplace.

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In a sense it is not the technology that is addictive, rather it is a specific application such as Facebook,  smart phones, porn sites, or multi-tasking when watching a movie. The mindset of some is that they MUST have their phone with them at all times. Are they suffering from phone separation anxiety'? 

The Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Jung once wrote, "Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism."

I turned off my phone on the subway. I still think it is more fun creating fantasies about the multitude of characters gathered around me as the subway car meanders towards the centre of the city!

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week.

Did you Know?

The President of the United States said recently that the world will never have a global solution to climate change unless the U.S. acts. They are the second largest carbon polluter in the world.