Wired at the Hip

Being in Mexico recently has made me realize one simple thing. We (those living in a high-tech world) really do need/rely on/want technology in our lives at any point in the day. The reason my Mexico trip made me realize that is this: Where we stayed, The Costa Azul Adventure Resort in San Francisco, Nayarit, is a place where the most high tech thing in your rooms is the air conditioner. That's right, no TV, no Phone, no Radio in the rooms. The bar area was a little different. There was a radio and a TV there, but for the most part I never watched TV save for one night that I happened to catch the World Hot Dog Eating Championships on Mexican ESPN. Other than that, guests were pretty much all alone and virtually disconnected from the rest of the world. But being a person from the Silicon Valley, I began to realize how much I miss technology and noticed it among a few people.
The most high tech piece of gear that I had with me was my iPod. But during my five day visit there, I only really used it on the plane ride to and from Mexico. There were a few people there that were considerably more "wired" than I was. First there was Ernie, he had his iPod and PSP handy and when I first walked into his room one night I saw him watching the Final Fantasy movie on his PSP. But that was as wired as he was. One more of my brother's friends was just as wired as he also brought his PSP with some movies etc... with him. Then there was Ray. Ray you could say was the most wired individual out of everyone there. He brought his really nice Digital camera complete with at least 3-4 large lens attachments (which provided for some excellent pictures) as well as his G4 Powerbook and new Treo cell phone. He did have some work that he could potentially do, but mainly it was for downloading the photos from his camera on to his computer for viewing later. I had thought about bringing my laptop with me but in the end decided against it thinking I wouldn't have the opportunity to actually use it while in Mexico (boy was I wrong). His laptop came in handy on the day we were supposed to leave Mexico and got stuck in Puerto Vallarta for the night due to heavy downpour that ended up closing the airport for a few hours. Our plane simply could not land and got diverted to the nearest airport which was a 30 minute flight away. We at least were able to use the Powerbook to access the internet and contact people from the Marriott Hotel we ended up staying at for the night.
From that experience it dawned on me that we are far more reliant and used to having all this technology than I had previously thought. In fact, I was having mild cases of withdrawal from technology. As soon as we landed in San Francisco, I immediately hopped on my cell phone to check voice messages that I had gotten while in Mexico.
The next day I got in contact with a friend of mine living in Chicago who is always on her Sidekick. I then realized, "gee, she has that thing EVERYWHERE she goes!" And it made me realize more that our technology innovations have given us the opportunity to always be online in some way shape or form. In this case, the Sidekick allows her to be on AIM all the time no matter where she is. I know there have been countless amounts of times where she has been in other states like Wisconsin and Kansas and I would be surprised when she told me where she was.
All this has come together in my mind to form the conclusion that we really are "wired at the hip" in many cases. Our constant use of technology in our every day lives has made it clear that when you get taken away from it, you realize you start to miss it. I guess it's just the convenience factor that keeps pulling us back to technology. I guess it is mainly because technological advancements have made our lives much easier and allowed us to continue to communicate with people regardless of location. Technology can also be looked as a proverbial teddy-bear in that we sometimes find comfort and security in our technology. But, despite all that, it still never hurts to occasionally disconnect your self from the rest of the world. It can bring you some peace of mind and take away some worries that you may have if connected. I highly recommend anyone to occasional take a day or more to disconnect and get in touch with your thoughts and the natural world around you. You may just gain a whole new appreciation for it.