Unplug and Say Hello
- Friday, December 10 2010 @ 12:02 pm
- Contributed by: Jet
- Views: 1,702
As I write this, I'm sitting in a coffee shop. It's the lunch hour; people of all ages are crammed in. After about twenty minutes of writing I realize I've tuned out the din altogether – it's still just as busy, but I'm lost in my own little world.
Looking around the coffee shop, I see more of the same. The girl in her early 20s, listening to whatever music is pouring out of her earbuds, The 30-something guy, checking his email or texting on his phone. Even the elderly man, hunched behind his newspaper. The coffee shop is chock-full of people who are completely isolated.
It's just the way the world is now, I suppose – we're so linked on the internet that we seek our privacy wherever we can find it. But what effect is this having on our love lives? Do we really need to turn to online dating sites to find love, or should we just peek out from behind the computer screen?
Well, perhaps I shouldn't be too hasty. After all, just because the coffee shop is full of people does not mean that it's full of eligible or compatible people. Sometimes the internet really is the only way to find people with compatible interests, or even eligible people in the desired age bracket.
Still, I wonder how different things would be if we had a no-electronics policy in public places. Would we interact more? Start up conversations out of sheer boredom? Would we avoid such places altogether, scuttling through as quickly as possible to get to our destination?
There's an old cliché about finding love in the grocery store, asking a stranger how to identify ripe melons. Nowadays, all one has to do is whip out their smart phone.
Obviously, the world has changed, and not even necessarily for the worst. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't give up on the tried and true when it comes to love – human interaction. Next time you're at the coffee shop, try striking up a conversation with a random person – it doesn't even have to be a romantic interest. If we develop the habit of actually talking to one another, who knows where it might lead?
Looking around the coffee shop, I see more of the same. The girl in her early 20s, listening to whatever music is pouring out of her earbuds, The 30-something guy, checking his email or texting on his phone. Even the elderly man, hunched behind his newspaper. The coffee shop is chock-full of people who are completely isolated.
It's just the way the world is now, I suppose – we're so linked on the internet that we seek our privacy wherever we can find it. But what effect is this having on our love lives? Do we really need to turn to online dating sites to find love, or should we just peek out from behind the computer screen?
Well, perhaps I shouldn't be too hasty. After all, just because the coffee shop is full of people does not mean that it's full of eligible or compatible people. Sometimes the internet really is the only way to find people with compatible interests, or even eligible people in the desired age bracket.
Still, I wonder how different things would be if we had a no-electronics policy in public places. Would we interact more? Start up conversations out of sheer boredom? Would we avoid such places altogether, scuttling through as quickly as possible to get to our destination?
There's an old cliché about finding love in the grocery store, asking a stranger how to identify ripe melons. Nowadays, all one has to do is whip out their smart phone.
Obviously, the world has changed, and not even necessarily for the worst. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't give up on the tried and true when it comes to love – human interaction. Next time you're at the coffee shop, try striking up a conversation with a random person – it doesn't even have to be a romantic interest. If we develop the habit of actually talking to one another, who knows where it might lead?
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