Janet CollinsThe Technology Relationship
March 4th 2009 19:39
There was a time when an annual holiday meant leaving everything at home. Time to chill out. Time to get away and forget everything at home. A time for rejuvenation. Escaping the rat race and having two, three or if your are really lucky, four weeks away and forgetting everything about home or work was just pure bliss.
I remember so many people saying “don’t take your watch”. That never really meant too much to me because I am not one of the obsessive clock watchers. I only look at my watch if I have to or I think I am running late for something. So on a holiday, I can wear one all day and not even worry about the time..
The watch, as it happens, became the mobile phone. People would always say “leave the mobile at home”. Then it became the laptop. Now the mobile can actually be the laptop as well.
What is funny about this is that it is often now the mobile phones or the laptops that allow us to get away in the first place. Even if we want to leave it all at home, we have somehow become so attached to technology that it is almost impossible to tear ourselves away from it. Do we now no longer want to escape the grind?
An interesting survey conducted recently by German broadband association Bitkom found that 84 percent of respondents aged 19 to 29 went so far as to say they would do without their car or ditch their spouses rather than go without internet access or a mobile phone for any time at all. It is interesting how this technology has blurred the lines between work and play because, unlike in previous decades, it has become crucial to both of these aspects of our lives.
The survey was done over one thousand people and many had said that internet communities and chat forums had made them new friends and eight percent of the people surveyed said they had found new partners online.
They’re calling it the new “Webciety”. August-Wilhelm Scheer, president of Bitkom admits that that although “the web creates real relationships and does not result in autism and dehumanisation,” there is a gap, not between 30 and 40 year olds but with those in their 50s and above.
So what about holidays and work? Can we no longer separate the two?
Source: Reuters
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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but even my techno-phobe parents love the wonders of ebay and online banking and share trading
maybe the self-service of the cyber world better suits the oldies who hate call-centres
actually even i hate call-centres, i much prefer online
although ive been offline for the last week and i wasnt itching for it, i think when you are busy you dont notice
Comment by Janet Collins
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Funny thing is, my parents are OK with a mobile phone but don't have a computer and so don't do anything online. My mother is actually a lot better at texting than I am and always sends me really long messages which are actually rather funny.
You're right when you say if you're busy you don't notice being offline but sometimes I can get to a point when I am on the computer that I can't get off it. I'm alway saying to myself "I'll just do this first before I switch it off". Ridiculous really!