I have a prediction.  Someday, most likely before I am gone, there will be a massive power outage, or a breakdown of fiber optic cable networks that store so many of our communications worldwide.  On this day, a widespread panic will ensue.  I cannot begin to fully comprehend, let alone describe the chaos this will cause, or its aftermath.  People will go crazy!

Not only do we have a young generation that is completely addicted to electronics of all kinds, even previous generations have jumped on this bandwagon, albeit to a lesser degree.

From my perspective, I have come to depend on my cell phone, for safety and for direct communication to my aging mother.  I enjoy internet access and social media.  It puts me in touch with people quickly and easily.  And I love the opportunity to communicate with those I love who live far away.  But truly, I can live without these things.  I have lived without them.

In spite of all the ways people now have for communication, many opt to use the ways that separate them from each other the most.  Internet games are played online with unseen opponents.  Texting is preferred over the telephone, even when driving.  Sadly, texting and playing on smartphones is preferred over face-to-face conversation.  I have often seen entire families sit and text or play games, while sitting together, and never even make eye contact with each other.

Online communication is done on smartphones.  Pictures are sent instantly across the world on tiny devices.  This is pretty spectacular stuff, up to a point.  The thing is, we are flying past that point, and to what end?  While technology is, in and of itself, a very good thing, it has caused deep, intimate interactions to fall by the wayside.

What does this mean?  I don’t know.  There are no easy answers to this question.  But it does need to be asked because people are addicted and vulnerable to manipulation by media that already makes us slaves to consumerism.  So much of our world is not real, but instead, virtual.  We are losing touch with each other.

I, for one, want to stay in touch and get to know the people around me.  I want deep relationships with my family and friends and those special ones I have yet to meet.  I can do without devices.  I can’t do without people.  I hope that there is a significant segment of our world population that feels this way too.