Technology Addicts :: Technological Communication Essays

Technology Addicts Five empty chairs get a circle in the center of the room. Slowly but surely, state begin to make their way into the room. A young man dress in a black suit sits down with his Newsweek and briefcase. He adjusts his tie, clears his throat, and pushes his wire-rimmed render up onto the bridge of his nose. A teenage girl sits down beside him, tucking flaxen strands of hair behind her ears to reveal tiny white headphones attached to her iPod. She crosses her mature leg over the left, tapping her foot in mid-air to the beat. The worn wooden entre creaks open again, slamming shut behind a twenty-something carrying a thin silver laptop com honker. He slouches down into the chair with an exasperated sigh and begins to token 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 fence in ticks closer to seven oclock as the last two people amble in. A middle-aged woman sits down with her knitting, occasionally stopping to scrap nones in the sleek PDA beside her. Finally, a woman with a clipboard comes through and through the door and takes her seat, completing the circle. She clears her throat and begins. Good evening, and welcome to group therapy. Lets go over the ground rules First no technology allowed at meetings. regulate away your iPod, laptops, PDAs, etc. RIGHT NOW. And dont bring them back to these meetings or they exit be confiscated. The group members scowl as they slowly wind up wires. My only other rule is that you participate. You wont get anything out of group therapy if you dont put anything into it. Lets 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 W ide Web. Cell phones might as well be permanently attached to our ears.