techburnt

techburnt
in an electrocentric world

there are several things i am good at. collecting pens that write smoothly and evenly- choosing the fastest lane when stuck in traffic- striking gold at thrift stores- and making crafts rank among my most useful skills. i used to fancy myself an avid texter as well but with the rise in text-related traffic accidents (read: they passed a law in both the states i drive in daily and i'm not trying to get any tickets) i've almost completely lost my desire not only to text but to communicate altogether via technology.

my tech-qualms aren't just limited to my phone, but the internet as well. i've grown increasingly more uncomfortable with the amount of information we ourselves willingly put out there. this epiphany couldn't have happened at a worse time, our society is rapidly changing and growing more and more dependent on technological what-have-yous. from cell phones to tablets to laptops to fucking robots that are disguised as cell phones (i'm talking to you driod); to hell with the copernican model- we live an electrocentric world and we've reached the age of automation.

for years science fiction writers and enthusiasts alike have warned us of a robot-lead revolution. fortunately for the masses the probability of robots raising arms against us is slim, but the likelihood of our own kind going ape shit with androids raised high is real- very real.

last week a friend and i were discussing our weekends. i told her that my sister and her boyfriend of 8 years finally got married and the ceremony was a beautiful one. the other bridesmaids and i wore long black and white silk gowns that danced in the wind. this would have been a picturesque moment were it not 11 degrees and all of us sans bra...but it wasn't about us- it was about love.

as i began to regale her with the tale of how the jello shots made it to the reception she stopped me mid sentence- "that reminds me, i'm so pissed at britt. i invited her out this weekend and she didn't respond to my text or my message on facebook. she's so rude."

sensing i had exhausted her with tales of my family being far too fun at the wedding, i fueled her tangent by stating, "don't you think you might be acting a bit harshly? it's just facebook and a phone...maybe she was out busy engaging in life or working. i think people are too quick to get pissed off about things that the other person isn't actually culpable for."

her pug looking head cock to the side told me that i had lost her. so i elaborated, "what i mean by that is, it's unfair of you to be angry with a person for something so trivial. if you never talk to britt face to face, how will she ever know you got upset about her lack of response? who's to say she even read your message? maybe she is ignoring you- but maybe she's just techburnt."

to be techburnt is to be completely strung out and over extended in the online world.

now i'm the first to admit, it comes across as pretty hypocritical of me to state that i'm not comfortable with a lot of technology and yet i have a twitter, a facebook, a tumblr, a youtube and a blogger account. in years past i even went so far as to swear to never sign up for a twitter account (as i was convinced it was a tool for the government to monitor 'the pulse of the people'...but that's a can of worms better left closed until another day.)

i now regard twitter as a electronic post-it pad that helps me organize my often scattered thoughts. unlike facebook it doesn't ram my activities in the faces of all my "friends". i don't have much to say positivity about facebook except when used properly it can be a great networking tool...this is the only reason i still have an active account, well- that AND i was allowed to change my name to "Eunikorn Kweif" (take that, heightened monitoring of name changes!).

my main gripe isn't with the services themselves, but how people conduct themselves after being privy to such personal information- as if that level of transparency is owed to us. it's unnatural to me to be mid-conversation with someone, only to be stopped with "oh yah i know, i read about that on your facebook...you mentioned it on someones wall i think." what the fuck?!

i doubt i can do much to hault the progress of technology, but i can change how i interact with it. the overwhelming exchange of information shouldn't be feared, but we most definitely need to address how open we are online (as well as how open we expect others to be). feeling slighted for a misconstrued comment or dejected after a missed response online are no grounds for termination of a friendship, but rather an opportunity for you to talk to said person IN REAL LIFE.

forgive me in advance for not being the best texter, emailer, facebook wall-poster, or tweeter...i promise you that i'm still the same great friend deep down but i'd rather engage with my real life over the e-one i've constructed (except with tumblr...where i'm forever online and forever alone, lol).

feel free to connect with me:
twitter.com/apacowayner
apacotopia.tumblr.com
youtube.com/apacowayner