I'm a bit wary of our indulgence dependence on technology.
When PCs became the hearth of most every household, one could at least be pulled away to engage outside the mind meld. Not so any longer. These days, the tech is pocketed and along for the ride.
The New York Times recently reported on the findings of several studies conducted on the interlocked relationship held between life and the hard drive. (An Ugly Toll of Technology: Impatience and Forgetfulness, June 6, 2010)
What bothers me is the lean toward the addictive nature of our high tech toys. And how the law can (and has) manipulated addictive, secretive behaviors as a means to entrap and arrest, not to mention our lawmakers tendency to devise new laws without a peek at the research, all in the name of protecting the children.
I think it may be time to once again remind our children (including those whose adolescence we have extended way past the age of majority) of how to think smart online while utilizing any high tech device.
A few words of advice from someone whose life has been impacted in a way I could have never believed. Don't give out personal information. Don't trade pictures online, don't feel you "know" someone never met.
For those of you who will go ahead and engage in risky, secretive behavior anyway, remember this.
If persistently hounded by follow-up phone calls, it's likely a friend wearing a badge. Fear and the creation of anxiety is what these cyber crime types depend upon to wear you down, to open the door in alright already, just leave me alone aggravation. Once access is cracked, the wolf is in the hen house.
If this is happening to you, tell someone. Get advice from a friend, a parent, an attorney. Do not be ashamed. Real flesh and blood friends and family are here to help.
And go read a book. Better yet, join a book club. It's much safer and you meet real people.
Be careful out there. What's that old adage?
A life is a terrible thing to waste.
