the drawbacks of the electronic age

Hello readers!

As someone who works in the IT field, it is strange that I would ponder what we have gained and what we have lost by becoming incredibly more electronic.

Today at work, life was disastrous. Some poor girl tried to email a simple request to our electronic support mailbox. Thanks to a slip up, she inadvertantly mailed her request to all users who have our instant messenger tool installed. We're talking globally. All of a sudden inboxes were FLOODED with "I wasn't supposed to get this," "You've got the wrong person," "stop replying to all" etc. messages. It was to the point that I had to put up a rule to filter those messages out and deliver them straight to the deleted items bin. It severely interfered with my workday.

So then I got to thinking about life in the year 2007.

I can do almost anything I need to do electronically.
-I don't think I've deposited a PAYCHECK in years. Checks from my mom, sister, grandpa, yes... but my paycheck is direct deposit. I use my check card for almost every purchase I make. The mere existance of banks where you can open an account without even signing your name is incredible. The only thing I choose to write a check for still is my rent, and with my ING direct electric orange checking account I can even have a paper check mailed to them directly, thus eliminating my need for a checkbook.
-I can buy clothing, groceries, gifts, electronics, medications, books, etc. online. You can even buy houses and vehicles online if you really want.
-I send pictures of my daughter to family across the country in an instant.
-I talk to friends without dialing a phone through MSN or AIM.
-I've never seen my best guy friend Alex in real life, but I could pick him out of a lineup if I had to because we share video with our webcams.
-Hell, I met the top 5 people I talk to the most online - and married one of them. (Jeri : AOL. Lauretta : AOL. Alex : FFXI. Julian : FFXI. Matt#1: AOL.)
-We expect instant everything, to the point that when I'm on the phone with a client and I'm waiting for them to email me screenshots of their error message it's taking TOO LONG .. 30 whole seconds.

I'll admit, I LOVE technology. But look at what we've lost - the human factor.

For probably 6 months last year, I forgot how to write with a pen and paper. I actually had agraphia from not ever using those skills. Now I make sure to write as much as possible. I take notes on every phone call I take. That's a really scary thing when you have a kindergartener who is learning how to write and spell.

I don't have a lot of phone conversations outside of work. Some would say it is purely BECAUSE I take phone calls all day, but in reality I find the peace of mind of knowing that I can erase something I type before I send it to be very reassuring.