lyrical diary

Perhaps it is when our fairy-tale dreams dissipate into disillusionment, life stares blankly back, naked in the harsh light of reality... (june 15, 2009)

Co-immune-ication?!

While brushing my teeth tonight I laughed remembering a random scene from a movie  when the then "cool" beepers from "She's All That" went off, which my sister was watching the other day. Wow...so old school.  How much we've progressed in that area of technology today! And yet, in reality, that actually wasn't so long ago. 

Today I finally caved into joining the ranks of "Twitter-ers" all around the world after refusing to be sucked into it for months. I had thought facebook and email/ gmail chat and skype were more than sufficient to keep in touch with people not to mention myspace which I have almost stopped utilizing altogether. Oh yes, one more thing, how could anyone survive without the cellphone and texting?! (Well with the exception of my roommate from college, Bess. It was almost impossible to reach her.) But apparently not. We continue to need more! 

We live in a world that seems so famished for communication. Technology has advanced in leaps and bounds over the past decade in means of communication almost making taking distance into account nonsensical. The difference between communicating with someone 12 time zones away is about the same as your friend down the street, or with Twitter, even perhaps with a celebrity! Cell phones evolved from what looked like gigantic walkie-talkies as in "My Bestfriend's Wedding", to tiny slim ones that virtually fit anywhere. From just being able to carry around a mobile phone to text messaging, to picture and other multimedia messaging to web-browsers and checking one's emails and now with full on access to just about anything a computer could give you access to. It's almost like a drug we need it around us-just in case-as a security blanket. 

All this is fine and grand and quite amazing! But, could it be that despite all these fancy gadgets and services, we are today as human beings, less capable of communicating? Are these remedies to our thirst actually counterproductive thus worsening our thirst? This begs the question if there are different levels of communication? If so, what are they? Why the difference? Is there an answer? 

I suppose it's the difference between when someone's really listening to what you're saying as opposed to just hearing it. Or when you really have a heart-to-heart conversation instead of a venting, gossiping, chitter chatter session with your friends. Isn't it that feeling of "he/she really understands me...they get it" almost like a lightbulb sparks on...we're speaking the same language here! Something that isn't necessarily fulfilled by literally speaking the same language as in English, Spanish, German, French...etc. 

So there's at least one distinction. First, the superficial conglomeration of words, ideas, emotions and information-be it useful, entertaining, enlightening or not. Secondly, a deeper or profound sharing of these things sometimes without the need of expressing it vocally or with words. A glance...the meeting of eyes, of hands or lips say it better and more exquisitely than any fumbling of words could. 

(to be continued...a working progress of bits and pieces as inspiration hits)