Shawn C. Branch

i spent a few days this week, enjoying my break before returning to the office, sitting uptown – doing some reading, drinking coffee and chatting with random people as they came by.

a few times, i was simply watching people as they walked by – some on a break from others, others running errands and some just filling the void.  about 8 of every 10 people that walked by had their faces buried in phone.

are we really that busy?  i was joking with a friend the other night, remembering the first time my parents got a cell phone – it was huge!  i’m not sure that we ever figured out how to use it and the signal was never that good – it was still cool to be able to say that we had a phone in the car.

remember when people would say “hi” to each other as they passed on the sidewalks?  now, we text/email/facebook/tweet.  those are great and i use them too and i’ve been part of the crowd with my face buried.  i feel rebellion stirring within me.  why should everyone have constant contact and access to me – 24/7.

i want to look around while i’m walking and say hi.  i want to see the world and not just read about it through someone’s status update.  i want to hear how people are doing, in more than 140 characters.

can we find the balance?  i want to try.  you might call, email, text or message and have to wait for a reply – i might be reconnecting.  i’ll get back to you, maybe we can meet face-to-face.