Comments on: The Perpetual Vacationer

By: david

david — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 01:42:26 +0000

I think we become more removed from the people around us but more connected to those that are farther away. The people far away have become our neighbors.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:56:45 +0000

I agree, I think both are happening. I have been able to keep in touch with friends I haven’t seen in years, and good friends of mine who live across the country with the technology we have. It wouldn’t have been possible before cell phones, email, even Facebook. I’ve also been able to connect with people I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to (professionally and otherwise).

At the same time, I think people get so caught up in the technology, they forget take a breath, to look around and live life without having to be on a cell phone, or tweeting every 5 minutes. Not that I’m not guilty of it too. I just think there needs to be a balance.

Thanks for bringing up this topic, interesting to think about…and I love Wall-E! :)

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:53:11 +0000

I always worry that for everyone who can handle technology responsibly, there is another who struggles to differentiate between real life and tech life. A balance of both is good.

Sometime I want to take a vacation where I leave all of my gadgets at home. No cell phone, no computer, no ipod, no GPS. Just figure stuff out as you go. Kinda old school, but I think it could be fun!

By: Deb Demarest

Deb Demarest — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:30:36 +0000

That’s my dream come true: have a robot that will style my hair in the morning. I would also want it to do my make-up. I honestly have wished that I would never have to do this task again for the rest of my life.

By: m!les

m!les — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:27:45 +0000

I think both are happening. Before this sort of technology, you were connected to the immediate people around you. This geographic connection was based only on physical proximity, which is an inefficient way of forming friendships. It allows for greater variations in interests, but it greatly decreases the variations in genetics.

These days, our geographic connections have decreased. Older people talk about how they “don’t even know” their neighbors. But, we’ve given up geographic connection for situational connection. I don’t know who lives above us, but I have a whole Twitter list of respective, professional web developers.

I don’t think we have fewer connections than before, they’re just different. People are social beings, and we find our societies despite our technology.