Disconnected, what does that mean?  The online dictionary stated; to sever or terminate a connection, as of a telephone; hang up: State your business and disconnect. 

 To withdraw into one’s private world: When social pressures become too great, she simply disconnects. I feel that these are right in the literal sense, but in the current world senses it seems lost.

We are so connected, think about it. The internet has filled our world with so much information, but are we really using that information. The Bing commercial by MSN is a great example of information overload. That same information has been packed into our cell phones, pda’s, laptops even iphones. The cell phone of today is yet an extension of the internet, still more information being packed into our already over crowded minds. So it would seem that we are even more connected than imaginable. WRONG!

If you are reading this on your laptop at some trendy coffee house in New York or hanging out in Santa Monica put down your latte and look up. See all those people either texting or talking on their phones? Yes they seem to be connected, now look closer, they are in a social setting amongst others yet they seem to be somewhere else. Yes they are physically there walking, breathing, living but they’re not really there. I just did an impromptu field test. Out of the 20 passersby’s’ only 2 were actually engaged with conversation with each other. The rest were either on the phone talking or they were texting someone else, whom by the way is not there.

I was at work last night and had people sitting at the bar together. They ordered their drinks took a sip, yet they were on their phones with someone else either texting or talking. Those people on the other end of the conversation where not here in this bar.  I doubt they even had a drink near them. Do you see the pattern that is emerging now?

We are losing our connection to each other in the physical world, “the now tactile in your face world”. Remember the days when we let the house or office and said I’ll see you later. That meant I wasn’t going to talk to you until the next time I saw you, not the get in the car and talk at you seconds later place we live in now.

People stop being connected to that electronic pacifier we call technology and get back to being humans. We really need to interact in the physical world. No wonder our kids our off doing awful things, they have no sense of humanity. We are so integrating them into this cyber world that they are losing their humane skills. So let’s get disconnected to our technology and reconnect with the human-ology of our selves. Please put down the iphone and reconnect with the man or woman next to you.

Here’s to the love, life and the reconnect in my world.

Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr

Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr

Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr