Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Physical State: weary
Mental State: assoholic
Music: True Fiction Pictures - Music From the Films of Hal Hartley
Fashion sense: grey t-shirt, blue jeans
"Did you get your disconnection notice" - Sonic Youth
"Me, I disconnect from you" - Gary Numan
Internet (Ab)usage Psychology 101
It's strange today. I really feel that I spend too much time online, writing emails and surfing (add to this a constant desire to update this blog on a daily basis). Lately I've been wondering how I would respond to a week without email or the internet. I think about my dad in that hospital whose life lately is made up of interaction with nurses and doctors and the odd relative who comes by now and then. I think about how lonely he must feel with so little interaction. Then I think about how many emails I get and how I also feel that sometimes life is passing me by. I seem to be disconnected from the outside world sometimes too (one of the conditions that arises from working from home I guess). There seems to be a slight disconnection definitely for me as well. Generally I am pretty self-reliant and independent but sometimes I start thinking about how much I talk (in emails) about getting together with people but never seeming to actually do it. It seems like the email interaction of talking about interacting IS the interacting. How sad a state for our world then. It's funny because I was thinking about my comment yesterday how it's so "Toronto" to be surprised when someone says hi to you (but I don't think it's a trait that's respective to Toronto alone). Why am I on about this? Well yesterday I decided to download AOL Instant Messenger and it got me to thinking. Is AOL Instant Messenger another step in our technological "evolution". Email isn't fast enough to respond to another, now you have to be able to respond in electronic correspondence in real time and ensuring that you're one step closer to not having to see them face to face! Another interesting turn in society is the concept of the "internet friend". I correspond and interact with people who are long distances away from me but feel that their interaction is just as valid as the guy who works the corner store. Some of them I've never even met or even seen and couldn't pick out of a crowd if you showed them to me. But yet I'm wrapt by their correspondence and find myself looking forward to interacting with these people I've never met, on a daily basis. It just makes you think, well if we can talk on the phone and Instant Message people and email them then when are we going to have time to actually interact with them in a social setting (when we've read all our emails and responded to voice mail I guess). Just the musings of a fool of course, but I'm seriously contemplating turning my email off for a week and seeing how I react without it. Of course it's not a denial of it. Technology keeps on rolling whether I turn it off or not (and I don't think I'll be giving up email in the long term). I'm just interested to see how much more free time I have if I do it. Sometimes it seems to me that the internet is the devil's work for idle hands if you get my drift. If you're busy then you're fine, if you're a procrastinator or marginally employed and have a lot of free time it can be a boon. But it's not in the 10 commandments, thou shall not email nor surf. Is it really a moral quandary? Weird. I could be just imagining all this being a serious problem. Am I "alone"?
I'd also like to say that the new issue of Rosco (available online a little later, but in stores now) is nothing short of brilliant. Totally volunteer and free to pick up. Some of the comics in this month's issue are incredible.
Mental State: assoholic
Music: True Fiction Pictures - Music From the Films of Hal Hartley
Fashion sense: grey t-shirt, blue jeans
"Did you get your disconnection notice" - Sonic Youth
"Me, I disconnect from you" - Gary Numan
Internet (Ab)usage Psychology 101
It's strange today. I really feel that I spend too much time online, writing emails and surfing (add to this a constant desire to update this blog on a daily basis). Lately I've been wondering how I would respond to a week without email or the internet. I think about my dad in that hospital whose life lately is made up of interaction with nurses and doctors and the odd relative who comes by now and then. I think about how lonely he must feel with so little interaction. Then I think about how many emails I get and how I also feel that sometimes life is passing me by. I seem to be disconnected from the outside world sometimes too (one of the conditions that arises from working from home I guess). There seems to be a slight disconnection definitely for me as well. Generally I am pretty self-reliant and independent but sometimes I start thinking about how much I talk (in emails) about getting together with people but never seeming to actually do it. It seems like the email interaction of talking about interacting IS the interacting. How sad a state for our world then. It's funny because I was thinking about my comment yesterday how it's so "Toronto" to be surprised when someone says hi to you (but I don't think it's a trait that's respective to Toronto alone). Why am I on about this? Well yesterday I decided to download AOL Instant Messenger and it got me to thinking. Is AOL Instant Messenger another step in our technological "evolution". Email isn't fast enough to respond to another, now you have to be able to respond in electronic correspondence in real time and ensuring that you're one step closer to not having to see them face to face! Another interesting turn in society is the concept of the "internet friend". I correspond and interact with people who are long distances away from me but feel that their interaction is just as valid as the guy who works the corner store. Some of them I've never even met or even seen and couldn't pick out of a crowd if you showed them to me. But yet I'm wrapt by their correspondence and find myself looking forward to interacting with these people I've never met, on a daily basis. It just makes you think, well if we can talk on the phone and Instant Message people and email them then when are we going to have time to actually interact with them in a social setting (when we've read all our emails and responded to voice mail I guess). Just the musings of a fool of course, but I'm seriously contemplating turning my email off for a week and seeing how I react without it. Of course it's not a denial of it. Technology keeps on rolling whether I turn it off or not (and I don't think I'll be giving up email in the long term). I'm just interested to see how much more free time I have if I do it. Sometimes it seems to me that the internet is the devil's work for idle hands if you get my drift. If you're busy then you're fine, if you're a procrastinator or marginally employed and have a lot of free time it can be a boon. But it's not in the 10 commandments, thou shall not email nor surf. Is it really a moral quandary? Weird. I could be just imagining all this being a serious problem. Am I "alone"?
I'd also like to say that the new issue of Rosco (available online a little later, but in stores now) is nothing short of brilliant. Totally volunteer and free to pick up. Some of the comics in this month's issue are incredible.
