Where does use end and abuse begin? I am an internet user. I have what Apple so coyly terms a “digital lifestyle.” I read my email daily, several times a day, actually. I am online all day at work. I use the internet as a reference tool for my job. I develop web applications for my employer. Some of the information that I need to do my job is only available online.<\/p>\n
I write a blog every day, usually in the evening before I go to bed. Sometimes it is an essay. Sometimes it is fiction. Sometimes it is worth reading. Often it falls short of my standards.\u00a0 I strive to be interesting, informative, and sincere.<\/p>\n
I frequently take pictures with my phone. At this point it is the only working camera that I own. I text and talk with my wife several times a day. I often play games or read on my phone when I have to wait somewhere, in the doctor’s office, waiting for a take-out order, etc. I do not do these things when I am with someone. I think that is rude.<\/p>\n
In short, I use technology but not to the exclusion of people in the real world around me. I think that is an important distinction to make and a critical line to draw. Technology enhances my life. It doesn’t shield me from the world around me. I’m not sure that is true of many people in our society.<\/p>\n
To the extent that I can stay in touch with people that I can’t be physically with, I think that online interaction is a good thing. For some people that live in places remote from the majority of their friends, the internet provides much needed support. That isn’t what I am talking about.<\/p>\n
I am talking about the people that will sit and look at their phone when they are sitting in a restaurant with someone else<\/strong>! They will text with people that they are sitting across the table from<\/strong>! As far as they are concerned, it didn’t happen if they haven’t posted about it on Facebook.<\/p>\n I am hopeful that this phase will pass. We will come to our senses and remember to enjoy the physical world around us. Or maybe we’ll just be sucked in to the next big attention vacuum. Maybe we’ll all get wired up with direct brain implants so we won’t need external devices any more. We will become remote sensors for all our friends and family as they will be for us.<\/p>\n What do you think?<\/p>\n Sweet dreams, don’t forget to tell the people you love that you love them, and most important of all, be kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Where does use end and abuse begin? I am an internet user. I have what Apple so coyly terms a “digital lifestyle.” I read my email daily, several times a day, actually. I am online all day at work. I use the internet as a reference tool for my job. I develop web applications for … Continue reading “Why, In My Day…”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.kellie.wildroseandbriar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.kellie.wildroseandbriar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.kellie.wildroseandbriar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.kellie.wildroseandbriar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.kellie.wildroseandbriar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.kellie.wildroseandbriar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":681,"href":"http:\/\/blog.kellie.wildroseandbriar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680\/revisions\/681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.kellie.wildroseandbriar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.kellie.wildroseandbriar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.kellie.wildroseandbriar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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