Living Low Tech
Sep. 30th, 2010 07:52 amAfter a rather stressful day, I went home after work for a nap and had planned on going for a run. It was probably one of the last nice warm days we'll have this year, but I skipped it in favor of hitting the "Woof Wednesday" happy hour at a local bar. A beer can be just as cathartic as a run somedays.
I ran into the globe-trotting and freshly shorn
chrisglass who is always a pleasure as well as a few other familiar faces. Sitting alone next to our group was this beefy-looking cub type. So rather than have him sit alone, I scooted a couple of chairs down and introduced myself and then integrated him with some of rest of the group.
While he looked cubbish in appearance, I found out that he is actually 10 years older than me. What surprised me is that he admits that he'd only been in a gay bar four times in the last few years and drove roughly 30 miles to get to this one. Even stranger, he says he has no computer at home and his cell phone is of the non-iPhone/Droid variety. He says he uses a computer at work, but doesn't do Facebook or Twitter or have an email account other than his office.
Such technology has become so ingrained in our society that it is odd to run into someone who is freely and intentionally avoiding it. While I'm no FB fanatic, I do use it to keep up with people and events. I asked him how he had even heard of the bar or any of the events. He simply uses the local City Beat. The old fashioned way I suppose.
While I applaud the kind of resolve it must take to stay away from the internet and all its yummy goodness, I have to wonder how long a person can maintain such a distance from the online world. In talking to
chrisglass, I know he's preparing for another trip where he will not have access to cell or WiFi access for weeks, but that is a different situation. Do you think you could give up the web for any excessive length of time if it were freely around you?
I ran into the globe-trotting and freshly shorn
While he looked cubbish in appearance, I found out that he is actually 10 years older than me. What surprised me is that he admits that he'd only been in a gay bar four times in the last few years and drove roughly 30 miles to get to this one. Even stranger, he says he has no computer at home and his cell phone is of the non-iPhone/Droid variety. He says he uses a computer at work, but doesn't do Facebook or Twitter or have an email account other than his office.
Such technology has become so ingrained in our society that it is odd to run into someone who is freely and intentionally avoiding it. While I'm no FB fanatic, I do use it to keep up with people and events. I asked him how he had even heard of the bar or any of the events. He simply uses the local City Beat. The old fashioned way I suppose.
While I applaud the kind of resolve it must take to stay away from the internet and all its yummy goodness, I have to wonder how long a person can maintain such a distance from the online world. In talking to
no subject
Date: 2010-09-30 02:48 pm (UTC)While FB has its perks, I guess I don't see it as substantial reading like I do LJ posts. I've commented on it before, saying that FB is like reading the headlines, whereas LJ is the full article.
Hugs back :)