We are living wonderful times!!!

Continuing my series of positive contributions, I wanted to write today about how special and unique our current times are. The democratization of access to technology is behind all this positivism.

Despite the extended belief that the increasing use of technology is alienating people behind a computer, a phone, a game console, and making human physical interactions colder and less frequent, I could easily argue the opposite by stating that technology is enabling richer human exchanges. The best way to justify my point of view is to describe two real life cases:

I have a school friend who, at the age of 20, fell in the trap of anorexia. This happened in the 90s. Mobile phone use was not yet spread and I personally kept in touch with her by calling her father for news and asking some common friends how she was doing. I was then away from Barcelona, from where we are both from, and only these common friends could pay her visits to the hospital. Years passed by, her fight against anorexia is still going on. She has, however, turned into technology as her way to find support and encouragement to continue fighting. She first got a mobile phone on which she was easily reachable for a chat, even if, because of her illness, she did not want to go out or see anyone. Then ‘MiPasado.com’ a school-friends finder allowed her to reunite with some school mates that so good memories had given her. That helped her launch again her social network. Finally, Facebook came along. In using it, she has found a way of expressing herself and connect to all those that we have been following her in a way or another because we care. We might not be able to be physically next to her, she might not be even feeling like physically meeting us as often as we would like to, but she has embraced technology as her way to be linked to life and friendship, and that brings meaning to her existence letting her know that she is not alone, which has in some instances evolved in more numerous personal physical interactions (so necessary to fight anorexia).

I also have the story of my father to support my optimism. He retired 20 years ago. As workaholic as he was, he suddenly had a crisis of lack of activity. During his first years in retirement, because he has always been very little social, he hid behind his computer and “worked” in small accounting pet projects that made him feel better (useful). One day, I let him discover the Web, I showed him that he could easily find what I was doing by simply typing my name on Google. That was the start of a full metamorphosis. He suddenly started searching for all those topics he was interested in. He found the website of the small village he was born in, and engaged in vivid discussions with youngsters that were born in his village through the site’s forum. He became the village’s grandpa and shared his memories of the past with them.

My father had a brain stroke two years ago. These past two years have been very difficult and he was forced to learn to move (he is still half paralyzed) and speak (after the stroke he could not articulate well what he was thinking) again. Thankfully, his mind has not been damaged and he can communicate well within the limits of his paralysis. I have been supporting him and my mother through all this with regular trips to Barcelona and, above all, with frequent Skype video sessions that let them see that I am ok and feel that I am closer and caring, despite the distance. I even talk more often to my father now than I used to. He has recently rediscovered the computer and started browsing again for information about those places that bring him sweet memories. He even surprised me once with a Skype video-call initiated by him, because he wanted to show his sister that he could see me so easily. My father is 79 years. I tell myself that if an almost half-paralysed 80-year old can find a use of technology that has improved his life, everybody can.

Some people may think that these examples are the exception and not the rule. I doubt it. If we really feel that more and more people isolate themselves today, we should not blame technology. Technology is only the vehicle that shows us that something social development is happening. However, I just think that in the past, the ‘asocial’ people were less visible, and nowadays technology has given them a presence, that before they did not have (so we might feel they are more numerous). People that are social will remain social. They will use technology to boost the social side. If we think that being asocial is a problem, we should then look at our schools and our family models, at the quality of our human exchanges between parents and children and teachers and students. 

Let’s not excuse ourselves by blaming computers!!!