Technology Addicts :: Technological Communication Essays

Technology Addicts Five empty chairs form a circle in the center of the room. Slowly but surely, people begin to make their way into the room. A young man dressed in a black suit sits down with his Newsweek and briefcase. He adjusts his tie, clears his throat, and pushes his wire-rimmed glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. A teenage girl sits down beside him, tucking blonde strands of hair behind her ears to reveal tiny white headphones attached to her iPod. She crosses her right leg over the left, tapping her foot in mid-air to the beat. The worn wooden door creaks open again, slamming shut behind a twenty-something carrying a thin silver laptop computer. He slouches down into the chair with an exasperated sigh and begins to type furiously at the keyboard. The businessman glares over the top of his glasses at him when the familiar chimes of instant messaging become as frequent as the taps of the keys. The young man continues, oblivious to his surroundings. The clock on the wall ticks closer to seven o'clock as the last two people amble in. A middle-aged woman sits down with her knitting, occasionally stopping to jot notes in the sleek PDA beside her. Finally, a woman with a clipboard comes through the door and takes her seat, completing the circle. She clears her throat and begins. "Good evening, and welcome to group therapy. Let's go over the ground rules: First no technology allowed at meetings. Put away your iPod, laptops, PDAs, etc. RIGHT NOW. And don't bring them back to these meetings or they will be confiscated." The group members scowl as they slowly wind up wires. "My only other rule is that you participate. You won't get anything out of group therapy if you don't put anything into it. Let's begin." * * * What would our lives be like if technology were our life support? We would probably not be able to go an entire day without emails, instant messaging, or the World Wide Web. Cell phones might as well be permanently attached to our ears.