The Chains of Technology

I know technology has made our lives more convenient, but has it made things too convenient? For instance, lets look at the cell phone phenomenon. If you ask people what they cannot leave home without, most would say in unison, "my cell phone!"

When I was in a hurry about a month ago, I was switching purses and accidentally left my cell phone in my other purse at home. Panic flashed through my body. A marbled swirl of thoughts made me dizzy. "What if someone who needs to get a hold of me can't?" Then it occurred to me. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that my cell phone was not attached to me. Maybe everyone is too reachable. Furthermore, what is worse is the universal expectation that everyone should answer calls at any time.

If you don't answer the call, there is a certain path of logical reasoning that the caller will follow. Either (1) You have been in a horrible wreck (2) You are in church, a meeting, or a movie or (3) You are ignoring them.

Once the call has been made, there is an obligation to call back within a certain time frame. Texting, by the way, has an even shorter time frame to respond. Even if you don't have time to talk, you can always text back a quick reply.

Maybe I am a blast from the past, but I feel like now more than ever our lives too cluttered. Yes, I still love my cell phone. However, I would like to feel that I have the control over the phone, rather than the other way around.

I would expound on this, but I have to respond to this text.