Under the Sun
Being disconnected
in a high-tech worldLET'S get together later," an acquaintance said when I bumped into her at a conference recently. She'd been out of town for about a year and wanted to catch up after the session ended.
"What's your cell number? I'll call you and we can meet somewhere outside."
"I don't have a cell phone," I replied.
"You don't have a cell? You work for the newspaper and you don't have a cell phone?" she said, her voice creased with incredulity.
No, I repeated, a bit defensively because it seemed that somehow I was deficient, a detached person in the modern age of constant connectivity.
I admit I am. I don't have voice mail on my home phone. I don't have call waiting or caller ID or any of the other so-called services phone companies offer. As a matter of fact, when my best friend gave me a new telephone last year I had him return it because it was too complicated for me to use without stressing out.
All I'd wanted was a phone that would let me call someone I needed to talk with and answer when it rang. I didn't need one that could be programmed to dial the 50 numbers I called most frequently with the touch of a single button. First I'd have to enter all the numbers, then I'd have to remember which digit corresponded with the person I wanted to call or press the correct series of buttons that would display the numbers I'd previously programmed. Silly, if you ask me. I mean how much harder is it to press seven buttons as opposed to one?
I don't log on to the computer unless I'm working. I keep track of appointments and meetings on a paper calendar. I take notes with a pad and pen. I don't have a Palm Pilot or PDA. I'm not even sure what these devices are or how they work.
Digital cameras are fine instruments, especially for news photographers who can shoot an event and send images via cell phones in a matter of minutes. But they're not for me. I like cranking film into my old Nikon, shooting off a roll, dropping it into the sticky envelope at Longs and waiting for my pictures to be developed. I enjoy the anticipation.
Because I haven't completely embraced the new age of technology, a co-worker calls me a "fuddy Luddite." I'm not. Technological advances are wonderful when they make life better and less complicated.
Part of my problem is I've failed to keep up with all things new and improved. I'm so clueless that articles about tech developments seem to be written in a foreign language. What the heck is WiFi or MPEG-2 and how is it different from MPEG1? What in the world is a cordless kit with a penlight stylus used for? Why should I consider obtaining a new chip set? What is Xbox and TiVo and why do I need to download an MP3 file?
The other part is that I think that technology is overwhelming us. Because we can, we do -- without considering the why of it all. What good is a wireless home network system that produces audio and visual images on screens in every room in the house if the people who live there don't have time to talk with each other face to face?
Connectivity is a human need, but technology provides only a semblance of the seams that bind us. It is kind of like a plate on which food is placed, but it isn't a substitute for nourishment.
After the conference, I managed to locate my friend outside the meeting hall. I heard her voice as she yelled "Hello? Hello?" into her battery-dead cell phone.
Cynthia Oi has been on the staff of the Star-Bulletin for 25 years.
She can be reached at: coi@starbulletin.com.