found in tradition
Not too long ago, I took a brake out of the busy daily tasks of being great and decided to go south to linger in the sun for a few days. One of the conditions I had given myself was not to be connected to the internet all of the time. Yes, I had given myself an incredible challenge. The first few hours were hell. No new tweets, no status updates and no info on updated profile pictures. I felt alone, lost, naked. The flight attendents had to calm me down and the captain of the plane promised to send me a friend request once we had landed. The horror : “Please turn off all your electronic devices.”.
I checked in in the hotel and was told that they had free Wifi. Great news, but against my good resolution to be connected as little as possible. I decided I had to step out doors as soon as possible. And then it happened. I witnessed an ancient ceremony. Right there in front of my very own eyes. People were communicating without the help of any device. I know, sounds incredible, but they had no profile you could check out first, no public settings and poking someone would clearly result in the need for some medical attention.
I hurried back to the hotel and did some research. It seems that this ancient tradition of direct interfacing between people has been around for quite some time. It is not just some nice effort like Google +, but a proven way of interacting with others. And my research even revealed new things to me. This direct communication is not only done in the street, no, they have special environments that enforce the intention of what is called “socializing”. These special locations are called bars, cafes, restaurants etc. Each and everyone has its own specificities and extra functions.
It goes without saying that I was intrigued by this new knowledge, but luckily I did not have to practice it. I had been smart enough to make sure my mobile internet connection was active when roaming. I applaud tradition and feel lucky to have witnessed it. After all, soon it will be something we read about.
Sincerely mine
Victor Hale

