Biblical Womanhood: An age of great wealth and lousy manners?

Thursday, August 09, 2007

An age of great wealth and lousy manners?

Speaking of "old-fashioned" dial-up internet service and the fast progression and advances being made in modern technology, this was an interesting piece by Peggy Noonan. (Hat-tip to Amy.)

BlackBerrys empower the obsessed. We wouldn't have them if the economy weren't high and we weren't pretty well off. Once, a political figure in New York invited me to a private dinner. I was seated next to him, and as the table conversation took off he leaned back, quietly took out his BlackBerry, and began to scroll. It occurred to me that if I said something live in person, it would not be as interesting to him as if I'd BlackBerryed him. It occurred to me that if I wanted to talk to him I'd have to BlackBerry him and say, "Please talk to me." And then he would get the message.

It is possible that we are on the cellphone because we are lonely and hunger for connection, even of the shallowest kind; that we BlackBerry because we hope for a sense of control in a chaotic world; that we are frightened of stillness and must interrupt conversations; that we are desperate to make the sale in the highly competitive environment of the Banana Republic on 86th Street and must aggressively pursue customers.

It's also possible we have grown more boorish. I think it's that one. Many things thrive in the age of everything, including bad manners.

9 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Technology intended to connect too often insulates and isolates...the BlackBerry being one(my cell phone has a list of canned responses I can click to text in case I am too bothered or time restrained to talk or text in my own words.).

The other day on the news, the reporter shared that she'd lost her BlackBerry and was also lost geographically with her children in the car. She didn't want to alarm them; they suggested she use her BlackBerry. She pulled over and admittedly lost her composure in a parking lot. Not once had she considered the old-fashioned...the normal way of asking for for human direction/help.

There is much to learn even on the information highway of the web. Only way too often for those already seeking companionship because of a myriad of reasons(being keepers at home or those with health issues, for examples), it can certainly tend to insulate and isolate further from real human contact God intends...just as can a little BlackBerry intended to increase interaction. Give me arms and hugs and hearts over stuff. For the limited times the others are very profitable, they must be managed lest they manage us into hermits up to eyeballs with things that let the fingers do all the talking and walking. Mrs. burrows; 3:43 PM
Anonymous said...: I once saw a news story about how a man's children had to compete with the Blackberry for his time and attention.; 6:36 PM
Stephanie said...: Nothing gets my dander up more than seeing a mom or dad on an outing with their children (like the Zoo or Children's Museum) and be talking on the cell phone. For Pete's sake people, your children are more important than whoever is on the phone!; 10:13 PM
Kathleen said...: Isn't that sad?; 11:32 PM
A New Life said...: Heh, I got a kick out of that piece. My husband worked with the "blackberry department" at the Pentagon for two years. He basically issued them to all the higher ups.
At that time we were courting, and it was nice to get in contact with him whenever. Cell phones didn't really work there :-P

However, I can see how people can become way too obsessed with it!; 10:26 AM
VeiledGlory said...: I've heard the device called a "Crackberry". Ample reasons for it!

~Anna; 11:52 AM
Anna said...: I completely agree. Having just spent a month in Peru on a missions trip, I was struck by the lingering formality of that culture as compared to ours. Politeness and manners still seem to exist there. It was quite the contrast.; 5:02 PM
Jessica said...: my boyfriend has a blackberry/pda for work...at a hospital in computer technology ...you know...the computers that keep all the machines people are hooked up to working. I don't see it as a matter of superflous selfishness, but a matter in this case of necessity. Not everyone works in colonial/victorian romanticized professions or at home...some of us actually need technology and the connection for our jobs and livelihood, which serves for the safety of the community. He is on call 24/7, and would be if we had kids. That's not him putting me, or his family in a lesser priority, but part of his job.

Think broadly. There are exceptions to every extreme negative and inessential.; 11:23 PM
Martha A. said...: I think that it is sad when people spend so much time on these things that they mess up relationships, but I do get frustrated sometimes when people assume that because you answered your cell phone when you were in a public place that you are ignoring the people you are with.
I do get irritated when they spend long periods of time on the phone when you are there, but I understand that some people have to be on call alot, My mom is one of these people. She is a midwife and if she does not answer her cell phone she loses business as people want someone they can depend on.; 12:16 AM

Thursday, August 09, 2007

An age of great wealth and lousy manners?

9 Comments:

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