It's Time for Another Good Idea, Bad Idea^Blog

I can ask this only because I am a product of it. I thus acknowledge my hypocrisy off the bat. I, however, respect it for what it is and can thus critique it. So let me open up by asking this…what the hell happened? To us, I mean. As a commuter, I’m starting to notice more and more the people that I come into “contact” (I use that term loosely) with on the BART. And more and more, I am noticing more cords running from our pockets into our ears and us looking down. I didn’t think anything of it nor the possible consequences until today. I was listening to my iPod when people were getting off and I saw out of my peripheral two women and a small girl. I turn my head and I see one of them pointing to the empty seat next to me. I finally turn off my music and I hear “well I’m going to sit down” and I realize that they were trying to see who would get the seat next to me. I offer up my seat as well and she looks at me strangely before saying “oh wow, how nice” as if that was something rare or new. But then it hit me that that I would have never done that had I still been listening to my iPod. To them, if I had not looked and stopped my music, I would have been just space being taken up on a seat, not even a human. And then I question…

“How many other chances like mine have been passed up because we were too busy in our own technological world?”

What interactions have been passed up as we’ve continued to isolate ourselves among all the iPods and iPhones and instagrams? What happened to us to make it so that we feel comfortable talking on Facebook and Tumblr, but just feel awkward in person? Have we forgotten how to be human in public? Even now, some of you may be reading this as a normal conversation topic when, if you were to possibly hear me talk about this in person, you’d probably think I’m weird. I, again, acknowledge my hypocrisy in acknowledging that I am actually more comfortable in expressing this view over Tumblr than in person. I mean, I understand that there may be public interactions that may cause some hostility or anxiety at times, but does that mean we should shut ourselves out? We interact, it’s what we’re born to do. Not through a text, not through Facebook, but in a one on one conversation in person. I know it may seem extreme to ask it, but I feel this is the only question that can sum all of this up…where did our humanity go?