There is a process in the evolution of a compleat human, where one is given to pause, reflection, ponderance…a process whereby one comes to know and understand themselves in a profoundly personal, private and intimate way.
The need for that is, I believe, universal.

There is so much more to us than the media-specific expressions pressed in silicon’d amber. Yet…when such shoals of shallows become the deeps – then it is that we become slaves to our fascinations with the toys and joys of spontaneous entertainment.
That makes us good consumers, marks for every new invention and contraption whose mega sales add to the coffers of the suits (it is their love and ambition, after all) and we buy into the corporate way.

Sadly, in epochs gone by, no inventions managed to enslave the populace in quite such a staggering manner. When a president has the wit and compulsion to address this thing, it’s a damned shame that his effort becomes a media event in itself – though not surprising that many will have missed the message.

Any physical thing can become a useful tool,when used as such, and primed for the purpose of serving its master. When the tooling itself becomes its own purpose, then the master loses something of themselves.

As much as I can always enjoy a hearty chuckle whilst dodging the texting zombies wandering aimlessly in my library – busy turning their (and my) world into a giant telephone booth, a bit of perspective tells me that beyond this strange addiction, life goes on. If along way too many discover that they have aquired the attention span of a turnip, it is unfortunately up to them to snap smartly to the job at hand, and prehaps somehow, find the courage to face life (and themselves) as something more than an avatar.

cheers!
jp