No time for goodbye

I was in Glasgow last week running an exhibition stand. Our stand was positioned directly opposite the internet area where delegates could sit and check their emails and ensure they kept up to date with all important work related things.

Having spent 5 days sat watching the people using these computers I can categorically state that the most used website at this conference is guess what…Facebook! As you may have guessed from my previous posts the whole Facebook addiction has rather passed me by. Don’t get me wrong I have been known to check the site from time to time and having been sat here on my own and rather bored this week I’ve probably looked at it more than normal. I am naturally a very nosy person. But it still saddens me to see how people are so obsessed with the minutia of other lives and how people seem to live their lives via Facebook updates. As for ‘liking’ things, that’s just plain weird. For example, ‘Little Johnny is currently waiting for the doctor to sew his arm back on’ and people like it!

There will be a whole generation of people who grow up unable to interact with other human beings face to face. They will get the shakes if they have to go somewhere with no internet access. There will be support groups to join – My name is Nigel and I’m an internet addict. You’ll be able to go to the doctors to get tranquilizers if you have to travel by tube with no internet connection.

It’s the inordinate amount of time it wastes that I think upsets me most. At one point during the conference I got out my kindle to take advantage of the free wifi and make sure I had a couple of books ready in case my train was delayed and I ran out of reading material on the journey home. One of the delegates saw me and started chatting saying how they would love to read but don’t have the time. They then proceeded to go over and spend 25 minutes staring at Facebook. That 25 minutes could have been spent reading a book! I bet there is a direct relationship between people who check their emails every 5 minutes and spend hours staring at Facebook to those who say they have no time to read or take up other hobbies. (Potential psychology experiment there sis?)

I have never understood how people don’t read? As you will be aware by now I love reading and read almost anywhere stain on the silence  Its so accessible. It doesn’t matter what age, or how much money you have reading is a hobby that can be done by all, and I’m sure if people spent as much time reading as they do updating their status the world would be a happier place!