Admin

Could You Live in a World without Twitter and Facebook?

By
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty Partners, Inc.

This morning started like any other workday, but quickly took an interesting turn.

  • Review schedule, appointments and tasks:  Check!
  • Read favorite blogs:  Check!
  • Update Facebook and Twitter status:  FAIL!  EPIC FAIL!!!
  • Morph into a grunting Neanderthal due to Facebook and Twitter failures:  Check!

Earlier today, Facebook and Twitter experienced technical difficulties, making it nearly impossible to update status or wall posts, make comments, send messages on Facebook or even log on to Twitter. After an hour of dealing with these daunting and frustratingly futile tasks, I asked myself if I "could live in a world without Facebook or Twitter."

My answer was, "Absolutely not!" However, I'm guessing that the majority of respondents would disagree with me and answer in the affirmative. Why not? We lived in a Twitter-less world before it was invented, what's the difference now, right? Well, I'd like to answer that question by removing the words 'Facebook and Twitter' from the original question.

Could you live in a world without...

mobile phones? Even 8-year-old kids have them these days.

the Internet? Try looking for a house without it.

automobiles? At least there would be less pollution and the ozone layer might still be intact.

airplanes? Two weeks to cross the Atlantic isn't so bad.

radio? No biggie. TV killed the radio star, anyway.

television? Could be the next casualty of the Internet era.

cable/ satellite? NBC would actually be "Must See TV!"

calculators? Time to dust off the abacus.

electricity? That investment in wax futures is looking pretty good right now.

the printing press? No printing press means no textbooks. Hmmm...? Not a bad idea.

Were you able to say "yes" to any of these questions? If you think so, think again. The question wasn't "could YOU live without..." it was "could you live in a WORLD without..."

It's reasonable that any of us could live without a few of these things, but it would be very difficult to live in a world they had not impacted. For example, try to imagine a world without electricity. With the exception of the printing press, the rest of the list wouldn't even exist.

And, while the comparison between the importance of social networking sites and electricity is a stretch, we cannot downplay their role in our society. They will be around until they are upgraded and/or replaced, so why not fully embrace them or at least stop complaining about them?

As always, feel free to send us a telegraph or you can follow us on Twitter: @GothamRealtyGrp ( http://www.twitter.com/GothamRealtyGrp).

For free, unrestricted 24/7 access to homes in Kansas City, Overland Park, Leawood and more... visit http://www.GothamRealtyGroup.com or just stop by. Here are directions:  http://bit.ly/GRGmap.

 

Gotham Realty Group on Twitter

Valerie Springer
Benchmark Mortgage nmls 2143 - Birmingham, AL
Home Loan Officer AL, FHA, VA, Conventional and Re

People did live without all these things for long periods of time before invention.  Of course now that I am used to the technology I would feel lost without!  Cute.

Aug 06, 2009 06:26 AM
Jason Crouch
Austin Texas Homes, LLC - Austin, TX
Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)

Jonathan - I wouldn't enjoy it, but I would live.  My family and I have been spending our evenings outside with no phones, TVs, computers, or handheld video games.  Last night, we played charades.  It's good to unplug sometimes.

Aug 06, 2009 07:30 AM
John Novak
Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace - Las Vegas, NV
Henderson, Las Vegas and Summerlin Real Estate

Hi Jonathan - I sometimes think that we're overconnected today. I think back 15 or 20 years and we managed just fine. Still, I'm sure I'll be checking Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. later on today!

Aug 06, 2009 07:37 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Jonathan- could I live without my gadgets?  Well, if I HAD to.  Would I want to?  Absolutely NOT!  I'm so happy I was born in the age of the internet, etc.  That said, I do love sitting down, by myself with a good book, one that is actually made of paper and ink. 

Aug 06, 2009 12:38 PM
Susan Brown
Keller Williams NE, Kingwood Texas (Humble & Atascocita too) - Kingwood, TX

Jonathan, I always think about the kids coming up now - and the things they won't have any idea about like a rotary telephone or a roll of film.  It's amazing the amount of technology there has been in my lifetime.

Jan 25, 2010 09:59 AM
Ken Jansen
Prime Development Land CO LLC - Overland Park, KS
REALTOR, CRS, 913.908.2215

Good Stuff Mr. Gotham!

Be sure to take a look a the new contest AR is running on Hyperlocal content.

Ken Jansen

Mar 24, 2010 11:19 PM
Marian Goetzinger
Pine Knoll Shores Realty 252-422-9000 - Pine Knoll Shores, NC
Crystal Coast Real Estate NC

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the speed of change around me that I wish for simpler days but if I really could stop things, I wouldn't.  Change is how we grow and evolve.  I hate to admit that I was born the same year as television and can you imagine life before that?

Jun 15, 2010 05:42 AM