a year of silence

2/20/14

  Convenient phone help lines on web sites, vending machines, and the like, are no longer an option for me. Now i have to try and solve problems via email, and that can become a very long process. So this requires me to actually go to businesses in an attempt to obtain more prompt service. In doing this, i have found that even when you are physically present at the counter of many commercial establishments, the phone is still given top priority and you are forced to wait.
  Long before i began my year of silence, phone communication had become more of a priority than physical presence. Many dates or outings with friends were constantly interrupted with incoming calls or surreptitious text messaging. Text messaging has now become far more prevalent than phone conversation.
  As technology allows us to easily connect with more and more people, are we actually steadily growing further apart? If someone is reduced to words on a screen, do they become less of a presence? Phone help lines are pretty much all computerized at this point, implying that you as a person are less important than a company's time and bottom line.
  Without text messaging and email, my means of communicating would be severely curtailed. Technology is a huge help to me in my quiet state. But at the same time, is it marginalizing us as physical human beings? Are we becoming more reticent to interact with each other on a physical and more personal level?