How did we ever survive before cell phones, instant messaging and the Internet?

Oh… we probably went places where there were people and had actual conversation with them about things that were important.  Of course that’s all a fuzzy memory of yesteryear… the arrival of all-things-instantaneous only happened in the mid-90’s… half my life ago.

GAWD!  How did I ever live my life so panic-free and unencumbered prior to that?

Oh! I forgot… I should have posted a “Sarcasm Ahead” warning.  Pardon me.  Here you go:

Now that I got that out of the way and has been dispensed with, we can get back to the subject at hand: being disconnected.  If you read last Sunday’s post, you know that I have taken to the Bat Cave.  I was thoroughly overwhelmed with being around people for weeks on end and I needed a break.  I needed a good break.  I needed it for my mental health.

Well… perhaps the world at large needed me to take it for safety reasons… as in: to prevent me from throwing sharp objects and screaming at people.  But I digress.

People just seem to freak out nowadays when someone decides to go off the radar.

Growing up in the pre-Internet days meant that nobody used to panic if they didn’t hear from you for days or weeks at a time and only your immediate family got to worrying if you didn’t show up for dinner when they knew that you knew it was being served.  You could travel on vacation without posting photos of every umbrella drink and conch shell and nobody questioned why they hadn’t hear from you.

Now, however, if you aren’t Tweeting an image of your morning java or posting memes on Facebook, the world’s population that knows you is suddenly clutching their pearls in a panic over what they are sure is your untimely demise.  With their cellphone in one hand, thumb itching to hit that last 1 in 9-1-1, they attempt to appear ready for their 15 minutes of fame on the evening news, hoping they’ll be the first to say, “I told you all something was wrong when I didn’t get the daily bowel movement report!”

Doesn’t that make everyone seem a bit stalkerish…or at least codependent?

So, here we are, a bunch of easily-panicked, codependent stalkers who can’t remember anything for more than a few minutes and we forgot how to live our own lives because we are too busy considering through whom we should be living vicariously.

Here’s a thought:  live your own life and stop worrying so damn much.

Shut off your phone and computer.  Go read a book.  Spend some time alone.  Learn a new skill.  Go for a walk/hike/bike ride.  And, when a friend stops over to visit – actually pay attention to them.  Perhaps you’ll end up more confident, get your memory back and not worry so much about what everyone else is doing when you are busy doing your own thing.