Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Divisive Devices

I subscribe to a blog by Vicki Courtney (Virtue Alert) she does social commentary that is particularly directed towards the media and how it effects/portrays our youth. Often I find myself in agreement with her observations, but when we disagree - we REALLY disagree. A recent post of hers caught my attention though. I thought it was more than appropriate for our discussion.

Recently a study by StudyLogic was done of 6,500 traveling executives on behalf of Sheraton Hotels. The statics quoted in an article by New York CBS left me - to say the least, angry. The article was referring to the study which surveyed these executives and asked questions regarding their prized possession - their Blackberry PDA. The particular statistic that struck me "says 35 percent of them would choose their PDA over their spouse." I tried to find the actual study online, but couldn't - if you know where I could get this - that would be awesome.

But, we don't need all the statistics to have some good conversation.

So - If it came down to it, when asked - 35% of executives surveyed would say they would choose their Blackberry over their spouse. It's either your wife/husband or the Blackberry! They would answer, "The Blackberry."

When I visit homes of family members and friends I often find this same evil lurking. Not necessarily Blackberrys, but the other devices that are dividing homes and families. Some that I could easily rattle off: computer, telephones, ipods, televisions, xboxs, playstations, video games, you name it.

Picture this:
You come home. You flip on the television. You check your email. You send a text message. You listen to music. You eat. Then you do more of the same. With little to no conversation or interaction with your mate.

Sadly, this is not uncommon. Lance and I have to work hard at making sure that the computer does not come between us. Lance, particularly, is a tech junkie. He could sit and read about technology all day. I love people. I could be on facebook or emailing for hours. But - we have to make intentional decisions regarding how to spend our time.

What do you think? Are there any devices that are divisive in your home? How is it hard to deal with? Can you see it impact your time with your husband? What can we do?