The Brownbag

by Sudha Narasimhan

We are in a time of great self-promotion. With the proliferation of Facebook and Twitter, we are submerged into a world of constant reminders of each other. I admit loving to update my Facebook status frequently with obscure phrases, nonsensical euphemisms for scatological humor, and cries for help (see ‘Sudha needs a hug’ status update back on 9/22/08). And don’t even get me started on this whole “friending” and “unfriending”. This is sick - is friendship that disposable and forgettable? Do we now live in a world where we can write someone off without any type of proper communication, and worse yet, do we value ourselves by the number of friends we have? Why do I enjoy this?

Our society used to be so different - remember card catalogs? Calling someone on their home phone- their only number? Using a pay phone? At any rate, we cannot escape the cacophony of text messages, vibrating cell phones, and pings from AIM and Gchat. God forbid you are unavailable, or do not answer your cell phone. Suddenly, a SWAT team arrives at your house along with the jaws of life, hoping to find you as a hostage or trapped under your fallen bookshelf. We also cannot escape the immediacy of services. Did you know you can order a pizza, pay your cable bill, and record a movie all at the same time on Tivo? So, I think what I am saying is that we are becoming less and less dependent on the human voice, human touch, and human presence. Yet, we want every human being to know what we are doing at every second. Hmmm, all this talk makes me want to order Dominos on my Tivo and then tell everyone on Facebook that I am ordering a pizza, and then text someone about the pizza.
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