A few days ago, I read this New York Times story about the effect of new technology in our everyday lives. The Times article references one recent piece from The Atlantic, but I thought instead of another article from the same magazine, published last fall. It’s about multitasking, and how people aren’t very good at it. (Me, especially.)
So why is it that all of my friends are going out and buying an iPhone or a Blackberry? (Does any college student send out so many emails to warrant the use of a Blackberry?) Why have I set up Adium to show me AIM, Gmail chat and Facebook chat simultaneously? Why is it that new acquaintances are amazed to hear that I’ve survived the last two years without text messaging? (Apparently, we should actually be polling the youth vote via text.) Why is it that yesterday, when reading a book while riding a bus home from campus, a few kids actually asked me how I found time to read?
We’re inundated by new technology that should be simplifying our lives, but instead, I’m seeing friends as distracted as ever.
What ever happened to minimalism?