Constantly Connected Yet Alone

The idea that technology is encouraging us to retreat from the real world, even as we connect elsewhere, does not seem so far-fetched. After all, you can get just about anything from your couch these days, including music and spiritual guidance. All you need is a smartphone and mobile applications. There is no denying that today’s technology-powered hyper-convenience can be a wonderful thing. One of the paradoxes of technology is that it connects us and isolates us at the same time. We get more, faster, but cannot help wondering if that is always better. We have more to read and more to watch, more to learn and more to transact, more friends and more followers — and yet we can somehow feel less satisfied. If you can do everything from your couch and your home, who is to say that in the future that we might not ever leave home? Just as McLuhan said in the previous generation that technology is changing the way we communicate and interact, the stage is changing again. Where do you think that we are headed?