This post may seem hypocritical, and it is. There is an alarming prevalence of hardware (and software) intended to make our lives easier and give us more free time. From the moment our ancestors learned to make fire, our tools have defined and improved us.
Today, the amount of free time we have attained through the use of our magnificent tools is astounding. Alas, we use that time to use our tools even more.
Witness the overbearing presence of cellphones - people text instead of talking, use apps to show where they've been and where they're going, to play individual or multi-user games, all disconnected physically from each other.
I've seen people in the same room text each other. I've seen people interrupt a face to face conversation to indulge themselves in texting. I've seen a room full of people not interact with each other because they were too busy interacting with their smart phones.
Folks, these are alarming developments. The incredible technology at our very fingertips has been (mostly) trivialized and co-opted for so-called entertainment purposes.
I am not denying the power inherent in the technology, nor do I deny that a lot of good comes from it. I simply implore you to put the tech down and interact with the real world.
Let's build campfires and tell stories by their glow. Let's have dinner with our phones off. Let's take our children outside and entertain them with the wonders of nature. Play board games. Ride a bike. Write a letter on a piece of paper and mail it to a loved one. Walk around your neighborhood and meet your neighbors. Grow food and eat it. Use hand tools instead of power tools. Go camping. Get away from the city lights and learn where the stars are, wonder at their beauty, and share that knowledge with your children. Draw pictures on paper. Create a social network in the real world - hang out with your friends! When you want to talk to someone, go to their house, sit at their kitchen table and fellowship in the old fashioned way. Help your community by volunteering. Don't donate money to charity - BE charity by feeding the hungry, helping the sick, and passing on your knowledge to others. Act in a play. Write a novel. Fly a kite. Walk your dog.
Do ANYTHING besides play with technology.
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