Are We Too Accessible These Days?

Isn't technology great?

I remember my first Motorola cell (car) phone. It was about the size of 2 bricks stacked on top of each other and came in a stylish black leather carrying case. The handset was attached to the base with one of those curly phone cords. Remember those?

I remember when only doctors and crucial personnel carried pages. They always acted so cool and important when their "beepers" went off. (They probably had someone at home paging them every 5 minutes while they were out in public just to make them feel important).

Boy how things have changed. I never dreamed I would become so dependent on a small piece of plastic with a screen and keyboard. My Blackberry is my lifeline. With emails, text messages, camera, web browsing, Facebook, and QR code scanning software, I have everything I could ever need. Oh, and did I mention you can actually make and receive phone calls on it too?

With an unlimited data and text plan, I never have to worry about how many bits of information I receive. There are days, however, when I'm sure I see smoke coming from my phone from overload (or maybe that's just me).

Most of the time this convenience is great.

But, what about those times when we need to take a break from the outside world. I can't get through a meal without my phone vibrating for some reason or other. I wonder if we stop to consider how invasive and draining the constant flurry of messages can be.

We don't seem to savor and process our thoughts anymore. Instead, we pick up the phone and text each other with every insignificant thought that enters the grey matter of our brains. Don't get me wrong, I know I am a frequent offender of this, but I would love to discipline myself to stop and think twice before I send the next "important" message and consider whether or not I am disturbing the recipient in any way.

If this post seems a little scattered it's because while writing it I have been emailed 5 times and texted 6. All of which sends my phone into STUN mod; bzzzz.