I'm something of a Luddite -- technology-free, or so I thought. I have an old fashioned alarm clock, reheat food on the stove, and when I email someone, I spell the words out, and use punctuation. Hopeless! I was quite proud of my archaic approach to life, until my laptop failed me one night. I noticed a low-grade anxiety set in; I started to get twitchy because I couldn't check my mail, or google a movie when I couldn't remember an actor's name. I realised that a very great deal of my life is contained in this silicon and plastic box, and that most of my brain is deposited in these bits and bytes...and not in my head. Addresses? Account information? Schedule? Writing in progress? Friends? All online or on the hard drive. Gulp.
I realised that in many areas of my life, I no longer know how to function without a computer...and preferably my computer. It knows more about me than most people do, and it certainly knows more about my life and its myriad details than I do. Honestly, I'm not a gadgety sort of person: I've never played a video game in my life (well, Pac Man once or twice back in the day), and I use my cell phone strictly for the phone feature though I think it's capable of triggering launch codes and who knows what else. The relief I felt when after 24 hours I tried the power button again and the thing whirred to life was ridiculous...I can't even describe it.
If I experienced panic at not being able to check the weather online, imagine how Blackberry addicts would react if the network went down? It would surely be a state of emergency... we'd need hotlines, drop in centres, 12 step programs, free coffee dispensing stations... it'll be chaos.
It's supposed to be a lovely day. I'm going to immerse myself in plain and simple goodness, leaving my brain-in-a-box behind, pretending that the peace I feel right now has nothing to do with the fact that it'll be waiting for me when I get back.
No comments:
Post a Comment