High Tech, Low Tech or No Tech?

I will be first to confess that I’m a high tech junkie. Yes, it is possible for me to live without my iPhone, iPad or Mac Air for a few hours. I choose to communicate through the present avenues of social media and my iPhone. I was totally surprised to receive a hand written letter by a cousin who I had assumed lived and breathed in the high tech world. I could see sending an e-mail, probably not a text or at least a laptop generated letter that was signed personally. I initially chuckled to myself thinking how could this fellow aging baby boomer not be tech savvy? (Reality check, maybe he always had his secretary do his work for him and now that he is retired he isn’t as tech friendly?) The letter was a great reflection of his heart in caring for his aunt who will be 90 in a few weeks.

The following day as I check my post office box I receive another letter, not e-mail, from a close friend who had recently moved away. I was shocked to receive two snail mail letters within a day of each other. Both of my friends could have easily sent me an e-mail or Facebook post that would have taken a few minutes. Instead they went out of their way to show their friendship and love in an old fashion way and sent me a letter that required using a stamp.

I’m blessed to have a lot of friends who are seniors that will never have a smartphone, laptop or iPad type of device. They are just as capable of showing their love in different ways that transcend the high tech arena. I receive little love notes each month from a group of grandmas that support me in our New City – Barrio Nuevo work. It is refreshing to be reminded that it isn’t about old school or new school life choices but the simple expression of friendship by doing something that communicates your relationship to another person.

I know that research would show that the downfall of our society is the lack of eyeball-to-eyeball communication. It is too easy to text or message someone via Facebook instead of calling or better yet actually stopping by and talking face to face. I admit that if I have a schedule to keep it is so much easier to text or message instead of calling or physically driving over. Yes high tech has helped in so many ways but it has also hindered us in many ways also. I do bug many of my friends that don’t have smartphones and then really go after the few, yes few, who have chosen not to have cell phones or use e-mail.

I won’t ask the question of whether Jesus would be an iPhone or Droid type of guy or maybe the old school type that didn’t believe in cell phones?