Yesterday, as I was waiting for my bus (which, I don't even want to calculate how many minutes of my life are spent waiting for the bus...) I saw a man walking and listening to his iPod. It was clear that he wanted to separate himself from the rest of the world and just linger in his individual reality. It got me to thinking about the Disney movie Wall-e. Now for those who haven't seen it, it truly is a fantastic movie. I was hesitant at first thinking it would be dull, but was pleasantly rewarded with my time deposit devoted to the move. (And with a two-year-old, it was quality family fun.)
In the movie -- which takes place in the future -- humans are pretty much individual islands floating about. Because their bone density is so little (and they are beyond morbidly obese) they move about via little pods and they have absolutely no direct content with any other humans. It's all through technology -- video phones, social networks, etc. In fact, there is one scene where two men are literally right next to each other, but instead of making eye-contact and conversing, they talk to each other through their computer screens. It's a sad fate for the human world.
This man, oblivious to his surroundings, enjoying his own world, made me realize that we may not be too far off from that future depicted in Wall-e. Will we become a society where natural contact becomes obsolete? It makes me look forward to weekends like this when I have a girls night out planned. Social interaction with people face-to-face is so darn important.
Sometimes it's so much easier to send an e-mail then pick up a phone ... but what a difference picking up that phone can make. Keep this in mind the next time you're about to hit send.
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