Today I am turning in a draft to my publisher for one of my new books (one that won’t be released until late 2009). The working title is “Connect” (just like my workshop of the same title), with the subtitle, “Engaging One-on-one Relationships in a World of Isolation.”
After spending a couple hours working on the book this morning, I glimpsed at my inbox and saw today’s update from Ypulse. Anastasia linked a fascinating selection of photos by photographer Evan Baden of today’s young people “seemingly mesmerized by the glow of their electronic devices.”
As I read the artist’s explanation of his project… I chuckled because it was almost word for word what I had just written about this generation. (I guess it’s becoming pretty obvious… huh?)
Baden writes (emphasis mine) …
In Westernized cultures today, there is a generation that is growing up without the knowledge of what it is to be disconnected. The world in which we are growing up is always on. We are continuously plugged in, and linked up. We take this technology for granted. Not because we are ungrateful, but because we simply don’t know a world without it.
From our earliest memories, there has always been a way to connect with others, whether it is Myspace, Facebook, cell phones, e-mail, or instant messenger. And now, with the Internet, instant messaging, and e-mail in our pocket, right there with our phones, we can always feel as if we are part of a greater whole. These devices grace us with the ability to instantly connect to others, and at the same time, they isolate us from those with whom we are connected. They allow for great freedom, yet so often, we are chained to them. They have become part of who we are and how we identify ourselves. These devices ordain us with a wealth of knowledge and communication that would have been unbelievable a generation ago. More and more, we are bathed in a silent, soft, and heavenly blue glow. It is as if we carry divinity in our pockets and purses.
Click here for entire the gallary of photos… amazing snapshots of this generation.
That discription about this generation just keeps emerging: Instantly Connected With Others… Yet Isolated from Those Whom We Are Connected.
Hmmmmmmm.
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