Joining the Choir of Electronic Tweets: A Brief Lamentation

If it weren't for the TESOL computer class I'm taking and the technology fair I have to participate in, I wouldn't have signed up for Twitter. I am not by any means a Luddite. There is plenty of technology in my life and I use it daily. My cellphone alone, where I do the majority of my emailing and calendaring, usually goes everywhere with me; it's like a strange new limb I've grown. Sad, but true.

When I am not emailing, calendaring, Moodling with students, teaching (using computers, of course), doing homework (almost always on computers), then I am blogging, taking digital pictures, writing (in Word), texting, using Facebook, reading online news, listening to podcasts. And the list goes on and on...

In fact, technology has become such a big part of my life that I long for those rare moments outside of it. Getting into bed with a good book (the old-fashion kind with tangible spines and pages). Purposely going for a walk without my phone. Sharing a meal and conversing with friends or family in real-time and face-to-face (not via Skype and with all cellphones off and out of sight). Looking at something beautiful--the ocean, a mockingbird, a blooming cactus flower--without having to take a picture of it. Must every moment be electronically documented and shared? I am not trying to sound righteous. I am guilty of being addicted to my cellphone camera and the Photoshop Mobile App. I log onto Facebook more than I like to admit, and I easily get sucked into the FB stream; it's a never-ending social media vortex or as one Facebook user recently described, "FB is crack."

I cannot deny all the wonderous things that technology has to offer. As a teacher, I know I cannot just ignore technology. I have to literally be "plugged in." It's part of my job. And so, sadly I must take another plunge, get a Twitter account and join the electronic choir. I must learn how to Skype. I must set up a webpage. I must stay up to date with the technology trends or get left behind. Ironically, though, the more "plugged in" I am, the more disconnected I feel. Multi-tasking, that championed skill of the fast-paced 21st century, sometimes feels like the fragmentation of the self. Can I get a witness? Personally, I think there is something precious about just doing ONE thing at a time. The expression "being in the moment" has become a bit of a cliché, but I find value in it, I crave it, I hold on it like a lifesaver as I waddle my way through this ever-rising tide of techno-todo.