Connected - Well? Too?

Recently I have been making connections to people a lot more than I ever have before. Email has always been a staple connection. Work has introduced me to productive internet messaging (IM). One side of the family has an email discussion list that sees consistent use. Sasha is on Facebook and now I am too. And this blog is a way of connecting to people as well.

But is it too much?

With my gamer friends, email is the primary method of communication. Sometimes I feel that the person on the other end is annoyed that I interrupted them or even that I used the phone when a text message or an email would have been just fine.

To me, it's reinforcing that bubble of isolation that this time of "communication" is rapidly constricting.

Back in my high school days, I was on the phone constantly. Whether it was arranging plans for the evening, chatting about some movie that we just saw, or just plain talking, I did it a lot. Hours at a time. Well into the wee hours on some occasions.

This was generally because most of my friends were across town, so just swinging by was not an option. And the lack of a car never helped either. So the phone was my connection to my friends.

And now that doesn't really exist.

Certainly, a lot has changed in 20 years that is not technology related. Time is a lot more precious and there isn't enough of it to spend an hour on the phone when there's work to be done. And work keeps those late nights to a minimum.

Once I had my own phone line/place (the two switched a lot in the college years) my line was to tell people to call at anytime if they want to talk. One in the morning was just as acceptable as early evening. And I truly meant it.

If I got a phone call at 1 A.M. tonight, I know I'd be very grouchy for reasons ranging from "Did you wake the kids?" to "I have to wake up in five hours, what do you want?" Neither of those response are positive or welcoming, but that my life is like now.

But how does one really establish a connection?

Face to face is the best way to do that. Then all forms of communication are available and open. Voice is only a small portion and this text is even worse. You have to guess my tone and emotion based on these mere words. Hardly a way to really connect.

Maybe we should break free from our isolation bubbles and start meeting people in real life instead of on the web. Perhaps that would help keep us from actually becoming isolated.

Then again, I am writing a blog which is the equivalent of shouting to the aether. So what do I know.

Be seeing you,

Jon

PS - If you feel that disconnection, call a friend tonight and get some of that connection reestablished. I'm going to try it myself.