Wired In and Tapped Out

I am so very lucky and fortunate.  I have finished a week of work and had a productive day.  I come home to find my fiance talking with a neighbor while his son is playing on the jungle gym and with his scooter.  I got to have a great, little helper to wash dishes and make dinner (he is such a great little sous chef!).

We live in such a digital age.  In my job, I work at an operations center, in effect as a Customer Service Representative in a call center.  I really do enjoy my job.  I get to learn so much and help people solve their problems.  Our world is completely wired: computers, call trackers, IP phones.  Imagine our surprise when we come across people who do not have access or know how to use a computer.

Today, I overheard my coworker who is in the desk next to mine speak with a customer who was trying to submit an application.  She kept muting her phone and discussing how she can't help him if he doesn't even know how to use email.  Another woman in our pod turned to me, asking how someone could not know how to use email.  I told her maybe they are a mom-and-pop shop that operates by word of mouth, who would find no real return from Internet exposure.

It really causes one to think about how we work in our world.  When was the last time you unplugged from the Internet for a complete weekend?  I know I can't remember the last time.  I hope that I will during my honeymoon!  But seriously, consider the life you have had since now and watch the younger generations.  I can't believe how many kids have smart phones...and they aren't even driving!  I was not even allowed to have a phone, period, until I could drive!  Computers were family matters until college and they were kept in very public areas, so parents could monitor everything their child was accessing.  Now, you see kids who know how to operate tablets, computers and other electronic devices at a younger and younger age.

And what are we losing in this great evolution of thought?  We are losing our connection as people.  I remember watching the movie Crash and a quote really sunk in:
Graham: It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.

Think about it.  We don't connect like we had to in the past.  We know we live parallel to one another, but we don't live with each other.  We know there are others in the world, but how much do we actually know about them?  We cut ourselves off from the world, but then we complain about not having connections, contact, friends or other sources of comfort.  How can we change this?

I really think a step in the right direct is the Pay It Forward movement that has taken off this year.  Doing nice things for strangers reminds those people that there are other people who want to connect.  It then gives them incentive to pass that good feeling along.  Why not try paying it forward?  You don't have to buy anything, necessarily.  Just perform a nice gesture.  Call on those manners that our parents gave us.  Hold doors open for other people or compliment someone who looks nice.  We can all do a little bit to make our world a little better.