Life = Online
As I sit on my balcony pondering my thoughts about always being online, I realise I am writing on a notepad that was purchased online, taking inspiration from an article online, while wearing clothes that were purchased online and twiddling my fingers with a personalised Tiffany ring that was also bought online. I am starting to understand and realise how much my, or our, lives are reliant on being connected to people, shopping, news, work and socialising online.
The only news I have read or watched this year has been online, gone are the days I sit down with the good old newspaper and glance over an article then turn the page to the next irrelevant article, or sit watching the 5:30 news on channel 7 with the 5 minute ads in between each segment. I now read articles when I want, where I want and how I want. It doesn’t have to be at a particular time, or in a particular place to be able to access what I want, it can be 3am and I can be in the middle of the bush in a tent (very unlikely) with no one around and I can see the craze for the latest Apple device on social media and purchase it without even taking a step. Amazing!
Being always connect to people can have its downsides though; how about the “read” that comes up on your texts after you have seen the message, or the fact that you can tell if someone has opened your email, this can put you in some awkward situations. My partner is in real estate, and gets calls and emails at all different times, so it’s easy to see how a problem can arise. If we’re out having a drink on a Sunday and he has a quick check of his emails, then forgets about the client the next day and loses a listing from that, firstly I won’t be happy (missing out on a present) or will his boss (less importantly).
As Eugenia Siapera says “just a few years ago things were very different, as proximity seemed to determine our social life” we could only study close by to where we lived, be friends with people in our area (bar our trusty pen-pals) and only shop at physical stores. As the world of technology has changed so dramatically we now talk to our friends on remote islands in the Caribbean face-to-face, we can study at Universities across the country, purchase a bed from the other side of the world (my latest) and tweet about events that are streamed live to our tablets. Doing all of this from the comfort of our balcony.
SS.
