Easy Street

I sit here at 9:30am on a Saturday, writing this blog, wondering, does technology really make our lives easier? Is it bridging the gap between people and making us all one nation, one large, living network?

On the one, hand I can just as easily and cheaply communicate with strangers around the globe as family across the country. And I can do this almost instantly. There are chat rooms, instant messages, blogs, cell phones communications... I can send pages, emails, individual text messages or broadcast my thoughts via twitter... Remember when there was such a thing as long-distance rates? You worried about how long you were on the phone? Remember answering machines? "I'm not home right now. Leave me a message after the beep and I'll get back to you LATER."

Now I carry a phone in my pocket. Folks can reach me anywhere, at anytime, and expect me to answer. If I don't answer they expect a prompt response as to why I couldn't answer. There's no down time, no quiet moment with me and the universe, unless I devise one. There's no separation work days and off days. The work day is everyday. The work week is... pick any sequence of days and call it so.

We are expected to perform everyday, because there is no physical barrier prohibiting the ability to transfer information. We are all connected. The internet makes it easier for us all to do more work, in more places, than we would have been able to do without it. And, because we can do more, we are expected to do more. Technology has turned us all into cyborgs, a human-like entity, constantly processing information. There is no "I" anymore. There is only "we". We are all part of the machine and we can't turn it off. You can try to run away, but we will notice the second you try to disconnect. There is no escape. We will hunt you down and we will find you... wherever you are.