Posted on 04/07/2014 12:35:12 AM PDT by Olog-hai
A retired art teacher committed suicide at the Dignitas clinic because she was frustrated at the lack of interaction in modern life, because of our reliance on computers and the Internet.
The 89-year-old, who asked only to be identified as Anne before her death, was frustrated with the trappings of modern life, including fast food, consumerism and the amount of time people spend watching television.
Anne, a former electrician with the Royal Navy, was not terminally ill or seriously handicapped and traveled to Dignitas in Switzerland last month.
Before her death she told the Sunday Times: “People are becoming more and more remote … We are becoming robots. It is this lack of humanity.” …
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Anne may not have been a pleasant person to others. She should have been counseled that it is none of her business whether people she does not know eat at fast foods and act like robots. It is their lives, not hers. Her death is sad, and some robot supporter of euthanasia just cut another notch in a belt.
Increasingly, I observe people who are not aware of their surroundings, they are that involved in the gadget in their hand. Not just drivers, although daily I have avoided accidents with people who are invariably paying more attention to their 'smart' phone than their surroundings.
I am talking about people walking through stores and down sidewalks, allegedly 'working' in between messages--in all sorts of jobs, and those who cannot be bothered to pry themselves from their screen.
They seem increasingly emotionally disconnected from humanity while 'connected' to lines on a screen. They tap in LOLOL while someone goes off and hangs themself.
I can put this in perspective, however. If the SHTF, and for whatever reason their comlinks are lost, they will be the disoriented masses. wormbait.
Sorry, but that's how I see it.
The backyard gossip has reached the ability to spread their vile poison to the multitude at lightspeed, and it is literally killing some of our young.
We are bombarded with unprecedented amounts of 'information' but acquire little knowledge and even less wisdom as a result.
Most of it is meaningless fluff at best, often erroneous, and sometimes maliciously so.
In the meantime, it is a pity this person became so frustrated with the very technology she could have used to locate others who are frustrated with the effects on human interaction.
So, not having a microwave in the home would represent some kind of hardship? A minor inconvenience perhaps but not an actual hardship.
We use ours to heat water for tea or one of those noodle cups, or even warm a cup of coffee if the pot shut off. Not to cook. It is a convenience for heating water, little else, and would be easily lived without.
I’d say it’s a generational thing except for the fact that you who are complaining so bitterly are right this very moment on a computer and obviously know how to use one well enough. And your “family” is probably fellow Freepers, especially if you are older and more homebound. Otherwise you would be at home twiddling your thumbs. Oh, that’s right, you have those other “modern” inventions such as the telephone, radio and TV to communicate with, listen to, or watch. Stop using them so that you can truly be isolated from humanity.
By the way, you sound just like that good old Luddite, Bill O’Reilly on Fox Cable TV. I’m sure that will make you happy.
My mom just turned 90 and has made many transitions throughout her life to keep up with the rest of the World. She has a computer, smart phone, ipad and uses them to communicate with all of her family, friends and former 1st grade students. She taught her students to keep learning throughout their lives.
“We use ours to heat water for tea or one of those noodle cups, or even warm a cup of coffee if the pot shut off. Not to cook. It is a convenience for heating water, little else, and would be easily lived without.”
Okay, you don’t need it. Throw it out.
“So, not having a microwave in the home would represent some kind of hardship? A minor inconvenience perhaps but not an actual hardship.”
Who said a hardship? Your word, not mine. A modern convenience and a wonderful item yes. And one I would prefer not to live without.
“More and more of this “writing,” as I see it, is in the form of e-mail and text messages that are spelled like something I’d expect to get from someone who is being held hostage.”
Not amongst my friends, lol. Mine are quite literate. Don’t know who you associate with but doesn’t sound like the best crowd. You might need new e-mail and texting buddies.
I’m 64 and the wife is near 60. We laugh at the young’uns and their fixations with their cellphones, but we’re certainly not against new technology. The internet is a great thing whether many misuse it or not. The internet has helped many conservatives ally against the leftist threat. The internet (and FOX News and conservative talk radio) has done great work informing conservatives and combating the leftist fungus that is destroying this country.
That last point of yours is a key one. If not for the internet, the liberal left would have a virtual monopoly on the dissemination of news and information. A terrifying thought.
These aren’t my “buddies.” They are professional (allegedly) associates, co-workers, clients, etc.
Humanity is not a display on a gadget, and if that is your entire focus, you are already isolated from humanity--even while you claim to be "connected".
I’d say it’s a generational thing except for the fact that you who are complaining so bitterly are right this very moment on a computer and obviously know how to use one well enough.
If pulling out in front of semi trucks is a "generational thing", if running into fixed objects on foot is a "generational thing", sure.
I have been using computers since the '70s. I know, compared to many here I am a latecomer.
I am a great grandfather, a geologist, and use computers for work (drilling horizontal wells would be a lot slower and harder without them). What I have noticed is the trend from useable software, bare bones but fully functional for my purposes, to graphic garbaged distraction fests which really are more difficult to work with, even to the point of hiding fundamental command menus behind graphics.
Let's get this straight, too, I use these machines to send tremendous amounts of data to clients and other people, they are wonderful. So is a claw hammer, a chainsaw, and a hydraulic jack, each in its place. It's a tool.
But when your life gets so wrapped up in the little screen that you fail to notice you run a red light in front of a tanker full of crude oil, your smart phone looks pretty dumb at the moment of contact.
How good is your kid's cell phone if they don't have it on (battery down), or if they just don't answer?
How much do you communicate with people with your TV?
Your radio?
I have a landline in case of severe storms, and a cell phone to use as a phone, when the towers are in range and functioning (yes, I am routinely in areas where there is no signal, even with adjustable gain multiband boosters and directional antennae).
So let me turn it around, 'cause I have seen grandkids sit at my table and text each other with their smartphones; when was the last time you had just a voice conversation with someone not immediate family lasting longer than hihowareya, fine, bye?
Maybe because I am a great grandpa I have seen people change, maybe that is just a question of my perspective, but I recall without so much as a record player sitting in my wife's grandmother's kitchen (the largest room in her house) on Saturday nights with most of her numerous uncles and extended family, a couple guitars, a fiddle, sometimes someone with a banjo or mandolin and having a darned good time not only catching up on all the local news that hadn't made the paper, but discussing ideas, swapping stories, and generally having fun.
We needed neither radio, microwave, cell phone, or computer to do that, and if the power went out, we'd just light a lantern or two and keep going.
I know what people don't even know they are missing.
Maybe y'all wouldn't have liked it anyway.
I have been through race riots and other not so fun human interactions, and all I can say is you may be seeing an image but you aren't there.
I think it is really funny that you think it has to be all one way or all the other, a typically Liberal form of hyperbole. I'm saying there is a time and place for most everything, and that some of it is out of place and running overtime.
As for BOR, I don't watch him, I think he's an ass. I really don't think you understood my point if you are comparing me to him, but that requires more than 'U no WTF sup' levels of English comprehension.
“We needed neither radio, microwave, cell phone, or computer to do that, and if the power went out, we’d just light a lantern or two and keep going.
I know what people don’t even know they are missing.
Maybe y’all wouldn’t have liked it anyway. ...
I have been through race riots and other not so fun human interactions, and all I can say is you may be seeing an image but you aren’t there.”
I see, you pick and choose those of the modern conveniences you approve of, and those that you don’t. How convenient for you. Computers good, tablets and cell phones not so good. And oh yeah, I’m sure most people would be just thrilled to go back to dinner by lantern light; after all, they don’t know what they were missing.
As you have stated (grandfather) and I suspected all along, you are older, and like many hypocritical older Freepers who claim to dislike modernity while hopping on their computers everyday to join their circle of Freeper friends and gossip and make snide remarks in comments (just like they accuse the younger folks of doing while texting on their cell phones with their friends) you complain about the younger generation. All that’s missing from FR are the selfies, although there are plenty of cartoons, pics, and vulgar jokes and innuendos by some. The younger generation’s tastes just aren’t the same as yours, although I’m sure that pains you.
I’m sure you personally know a whole slew of people who have been so wrapped up in the little screen that they fail to notice they ran a red light in front of a tanker full of crude oil. The odds are a lot greater that they were drunk, your generation’s vice.
As you said “how good is your kid’s cell phone if they don’t have it on (battery down), or if they just don’t answer?” I say how good is their cell phone if they have it on and do answer, or if they have an emergency and need to reach you? Is it good then? Especially if it’s one of your kids or grandkids using it for an emergency or just to say hello to gramps. I suggest you try taking your grandkids’ cell phones away and see what their parents’ reaction is when you do. And while you paint this dark portrait of the younger generation, do you feel the same way about your own grandkids or kids? Do they only speak ‘U no WTF sup’? If so, what does that say about how you raised your kids or they your grandkids?
You say “I have been through race riots and other not so fun human interactions, and all I can say is you may be seeing an image but you aren’t there.” Huh? I say, what the heck are you talking about? Your sentence makes about as much sense as again “’U no WTF sup’ levels of English comprehension.”
I might add I’m no spring chicken myself, being 67, but boy is my mindset different from yours. But again, you must be yet another generation or two above mine, as your attitude is old. And elitist. Nothing was better than the old days. Why when I was young ...
There’s nothing about text messages or email that requires them to be written in such a manner. Laziness and sloppiness are the fault of the users, not the technology.
Ultimately, you could have several processes directing your body while you think of or do other things. The computer can handle the mundane tasks of walking, driving, shopping, personal security, your job ..... You could be completely unaware of where you are or what your body is doing. Your body will seem robotic in NYC as your mind skis in Colorado.
Probably the same way that my grandparents looked at TV, or my parents looked at video games. :-)
“These aren’t my “buddies.” They are professional (allegedly) associates, co-workers, clients, etc.”
Then you better get a new job; you’re running with the wrong crowd, lol.
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