Please, Silent Your Cell Phones

As I was driving from College Park to Baltimore tonight, I called a good friend and per usual, we had this incredible conversation about a slieu of ideas and topics. One, in particular, struck me as intriguing and curious because it was about the overuse of cell phones-- while, of course, I was on my cell phone.

Tom-- the friend-- and I were talking about how self-absorbed students (and professors) are on campus, perpetually and constantly checking voicemails, text messages, and emails. No matter the situation-- in the classroom, walking across the mall, going to the bathroom-- men and women have their cellphones or Blackberrys attached at the hip, in the even that something (something probably very insignificant) might happen. As if one could not go ten, twenty, or sixty minutes without knowing what some friend is up to.

Is it necessary to be so connected? Is it impossible in today's society to go an hour of one's time without the attention of others? Do people find it impossible to think inside their own heads for a period of time without the consulation or recognition of others?

Recent and trendy applications like Twitter and Facebook status updates would have you think otherwise. In fact, such applications can offer us a second-by-second update of our friends, and interestingly enough, those who aren't really our friends at all.

Of course, few text messages, Twitter tweets, or Facebook updates are thought-provoking or critically stimulating or, God forbid, significant: James _____ i am so tired of writing lit reviews in research....all nighter once again; Nicole _____ is super sleepy; Montse _____ is covered in paint. To name a few.

Really, who cares? Is there a point?

To me, these electronic messages and updates are white noise-- tolerable, largely unnoticed, but toxic to our society if we want to be perceived and understood by others as intelligent, considerate, and thoughtful.

If only to give the illusion that we are capable human beings that can do without the attention, albeit shortlived, of others, silence your phones. Turn off you Blackberrys. Stop checking Facebook three times an hour. Silence this deafening white noise.

Are Political Blogs the New Salons of the Twenty First Century?

During the Enlightenment and Renaissance-- the age of conversation-- men and women often congregated in salons in order to discuss politics, civility, and philosophy. Such endeavors promoted discussion and analysis, which, in some form, served as self-reflection and a polite way of checking the government.

The platform for discussing such hot topics as politics, sex, and religion has certainly changed over the past three hundred years-- salons, literary journals, protests, sit-ins, talk shows. Most recently, though, the salon has been transformed into something virtual by way of the blog.

Political blogs are becoming ever-present in American society. Like the salons of the French Renaissance, they discuss the successes, disappointments, and problems of the government and of the country.

Well, discuss might be too strong a verb. True, men and women can respond to blog posts via comments, but I would argue that blogs and comments do not make a conversation. There seems to be little back and forth, very insubstantial argument. And it is argument that brings about change and self-reflection.

Perhaps upcoming technology will advance the features of blogging to include more discussion-like opportunities. Somehow I imagine that concepts like Twitter will be integrated into blogposts so that blogs seem more like a constant conversation.

That said, though, I think the real value of blogs lies in their ideas. But men and women shouldn't have to hide behind a screen to advocate their ideas. While the Internet makes it easier to proclaim certain thoughts, if bloggers are that keen on expressing their opinions, they should step out from the computer and make their voices heard otherwise.

An advocate for conversation-- real conversation-- I fully support a return to the Age of Conversation.