Technology. A force driven by human insight and intrigue that connects us in this all too fragmented modern existence? Or maybe the very thing that we are trying to achieve in our relentless quest for interconnectivity will make us the authors of our own downfall? Could the technology we use to keep us together, connected, be the same thing that drives us apart?
Modern relationships, in whatever form, are increasingly sustained by technology. Gone are the days of getting to know your neighbours and eye contact across a crowded room from a delectable stranger - god forbid we actually entertain the idea of face-to-face contact! A new era of txt and web communication has opened the flood gates for a tidal wave of meaningless small talk and puddle deep relationships. What are we all searching for exactly? Is the modern mindset one of quantity of relationships as opposed to quality? Do we judge our own social standing on the number of randoms we have perving over our Facebook profiles? It would appear so.
The problem is, while we all may think the grass is greener somewhere over there, modern technology actually gives us the means to test this theory. Relationship a bit stale? Get on Facebook, you'll find a wealth of lonely perverts sat at their PCs waiting to poke YOU! Want a conversation? Sod your "real" friends - Facebook friends are so much more chatty! Window shopping? A perfectly reasonable activity for all of those that don't have the luxury of a life!
The modern condition seems to be defined by discontent. It doesn't matter what we have in the "real" world, we have the technology at our disposal to always be on the look out for something better. Is it out there? I would say that if we spent less time looking for something else, we might just realise what we have in front of us.
