posted on Jun, 17 2014 @ 02:47 PM
It is not just when people are engrossed with their shiny objects. If this was the cause or not the behavior has spilled over into various
interactions. What I mean is that it seems some people are treating others as if they were not there, which was part of the point you made. Even when
someone is not distracted by the goings on in their device they might as well be. Perhaps we only exist while online, lol. Being infatuated and
consumed by technology is not a bad thing in itself in my opinion, as long as there is some form of balance between the real and electronic worlds. I
never joined Facebook because if there is a person I want to stay connected with, I will do so physically. And if I do not do it in person then it is
because I don't have the desire to do so. If it is not worth putting in the effort to actually communicate with a person in physical form then
chances are that this is not someone who is very close to you to begin with. In that regard I see the entire thing as pointless. Online interactions
should only serve as a supplement to natural experiences. It should be noted however that there are certain times when such communication is the only
manner in which to communicate, and that is understandable. Again, it is about balance whenever possible.
Such unnatural interactions could enhance life without consuming it. I was born in 86, so my high school years were already a time of high technology,
but by no means have I let it consume me. Therefore it is not necessarily some condition that strikes the younger generations, who growing up around
such technology are doomed to let it consume them. I do not know if it has something to do with how various children are raised but perhaps this is an
important issue. I was raised by my grandparents, who were religious but not overly so, and it was not forced on me in any way. I was allowed to go to
church if I wished, or not attend if I did not desire to. I was raised to respect people and treat them decently. I would think something like that
would be relatively normal but perhaps I am wrong in assuming as much.
I grew up and have lived most of my life in Texas, although I have lived in other cities and states for various durations, and I generally have found
some places to be friendlier than others. But I think part of this has to do with the population of the particular city or town. To give a bit of
background info I live outside of all towns or cities. Ten minutes in one direction and the place has a population of about 100,000, and about 5
minutes in the other direction is a town of maybe 8,000, while two miles up the road is a very small town with two or three hundred people max. In all
of these places people are relatively friendly, but in the bigger city there are more people who do not acknowledge you or who are sometimes outright
rude. I have noticed that some people will make eye contact with you and some won't. Whenever someone makes eye contact with me I will smile at them.
It is meant to be a simple, nice gesture, and nothing more. What I've noticed is that the smaller the town, the nicer the people. Or the more willing
they are to acknowledge you.
I never really paid much attention to the fact that I do this, but when I pass a guy who is older than me or someone I would call "sir," I nod at
them. Sometimes I even do this with people my own age or who might be younger than me. I usually smile at the women and nod at the guys, and it is
just a natural thing, not really a conscious decision. I'm not really sure exactly what I am conveying to these people, but in my mind I think I am
just saying "hey" without words. It is not practical to talk to all these people. But I've also noticed that it is impossible to even display a
simple gesture in larger places because there are so many people.
I spent some time in Manhattan and it was a bit of a culture shock as far as how people treat others. I met some nice people, but talk about not
acknowledging others. It seemed the whole city lacked humanity. In fact, the freaking police were probably the nicest people I met to be honest. I
talked to a number of them. I asked one for directions because I got lost, lol, and he was extremely helpful. I had heard bad things about NYC cops,
but from what I saw when there they weren't bad at all. I took the subway a lot and it was like everyone was in their own sphere, and anything
outside of it was not worthy of interest. Even those people who were not engrossed in a phone or tablet or whatever just kind of stare blankly,
oblivious to everything around them.
I suppose that, biologically speaking, there is a certain danger to opening up, even in the smallest way, to complete strangers. Especially in such a
large city considering that you do not know who is crazy and who is sane, who is nice and who is an ass, etc...But like you said everyone is a person.
I just read all that I've written and although there is some semblance of a point there I sort of got off track. So I will conclude by saying that I
agree with you. If there is any point to this post at all it is that my life experiences have taught me that you will find nicer people in smaller
towns. No matter what the reason for this is, it seems to be relatively true. Perhaps my experiences are not the same as those of others, so I admit
that these experiences might not be the norm. I am somewhat observant but not nearly to the same degree as others likely are, so perhaps my point of
view is skewed a bit also. Suffice it to say I understand the points you addressed and I concur.