Beauty of technology

I have a love/hate relationship with my phone; actually, shall we just call it what it is - an unnecessary dependence? We get along just fine when it cooperates, receives calls, and stays charged. But the minute the low battery warning flashes, I feel a rush of conflicted emotions.

"No!" I think. "What will I do now? How will people get a hold of me?"

And then it hits me: that dark, sinister satisfaction. "How long can I keep this thing dead before necessity requires me charge it?"

So I'll leave it dead, sitting useless, wasting dollars per day on its inactivity because Rogers doesn't really care whether I have it turned on or not - just whether or not I pay the astronomical bill awaiting me at month's end.

Then, out of principle, I have to turn it back on again. Why pay for it if I don't use it? And, really, my job requires that I'm available to be reached at most hours. But there's a sweet satisfaction in dialing my own number and hearing "You have... two new voice messages". It worked! Someone called, and I didn't have to answer it!

But actually, that's not at all what was passing through my mind as I hit "new post" today. I'm curious on the toll technology takes on relationships. Not so much in the sense of online vs. "RL" etc., but in the false sense of closeness things such as Blackberry Messenger and Facebook allow.

I have more than 300 friends on Facebook... and I am ecstatic every time I can "reconnect" with someone. Isn't it great to be able to chat with my cousins in Texas, find out how my high school friends are doing, and find long-lost friends? I really think the potential is there. But there's no fulfillment in hitting the "accept" button and then never speaking with them again. Sure, creep their profile and look at pictures occasionally, but does that really give you an update on their life? Perhaps a glossy view of what they want you to see.

And then there's the Blackberry Messenger, where I can communicate with people for free as long as they have the device. (Great product-pushing, by the way.) I love being able to talk with my cousin, for example, in Toronto on a daily basis when she and I have been out of touch for so long.

Technology allows for these things.

But is it fostering a true relationship? Is it really based on reality? It can never replace face-to-face communication and bonding, and I believe it often provides for a weak alternative, lulling one into a sense of security, thinking they've done enough to build that friendship or care about that person by sending a two-line text message. Don't get me wrong - I thoroughly enjoy hearing how people are doing, having conversations, and staying updated. But sometimes I get the impression it's replacing real relationships, which is a human necessity - far more than a charged Blackberry.