Giving up social media

A recent article in a major EMS publication has me second guessing how I communicate.  Regular readers may want to sit down before reading this.

 

Imagine that instead of thinking through a thought, concept or comment a person could simply spout it out, anonymously, for anyone who wanted to listen?  And not in a public arena, but from the comfort of their own home.

Gone are the days of decorum and civilized discussion when a person took out a pen and paper and wrote a letter to the editor.  Replacing that honorable tradition is this new technology promising to let us communicate instantly with anyone in the world, at a moment's notice, to say anything about anything, not knowing who may be party to the conversation.

Privacy is gone.

When I speak my mind, where does it go? Into the ether to be collected on the other side, surely, but what of the intermediate?  Where is it before it gets to it's destination?  We'll never know who or what is there, listening in, watching for us, taking notes just in case.

No longer can correspondence be between two people when a third party could be a part of it at any moment, without notice.

This is unprecedented in world history and I can not be blind to it any more.  Where is our honor?  Where is our respect for our fellow man?  When did we decide that communicating instantly was more important than communicating well?

I imagine next we will stop referring to one another by our names but instead use the letters and numbers that define where we are in relation to this so called "new frontier" of social interaction.

Well, I'm out.  I have seen the dangers, read actual accounts of persons who have fallen out of good public standing because of someone reporting what was recorded and I am not going to take the chance that this technology comes between me and a meaningful relationship with my friends and colleagues.

 

I am giving up the telephone.

-HM

Comments

TK51 said…
At least i will know to avoid happy medic articles in the future
Justin said…
Yup, this is as good as it gets I'm afraid. Thanks for reading!
Justin said…
Even though I do occasionally use tag words in phone conversations just to keep the CIA busy, I'm OK with them listening to me try to get my mother in law to hang up the phone. And I know she reads this forum...so...Hi, Linda.
Magnum USA said…
We have to admit... you got us. Funny post!
Orlandomedic1 said…
I was scared... I was really scared... whew.
Fire Critic said…
Hilarious! Is it April 1st?
T.Buddha said…
Patriot Act Blues.
510medic said…
Bwahahaha!  You had me going there, for sure! I saw the title in my reader, sat down, felt really serious...and then got completely played.  Well done!
Lynda said…
Yes, you had me too. Jolly good. Chuckling; my hopelessly antiquated sister had a dial phone in 1992 when I left Key West FL for the mainland. Twenty years later and she has a Farmville and does email like a champ.
LadyHavoc said…
I gave up my land line phone nearly 3 years ago. I've figured out that I spend more time surfing the internet and reading e-mails on my cell phone than I actually spend talking. Slightly weirded out by that...
Loch Ness RNLI said…
Got me too! And I live in the UK - we have started/created many things - some are pretty shameful.