Are Zombies Walking The Streets Today?

I think you have seen them, the ones I'm talking about. Mindlessly
walking around, heads down, making strange, twitching movements with
their thumbs and fingers, unable to carry on a conversation with a
person standing near them?

Maybe you're one of them, although I hope not.

This morning I opened up my laptop to check the news while drinking my
coffee, and I came upon not one, but two articles written about the
pervasiveness of modern communication technology. In the first, a NYC
comedian attempted to spend just one day without his cell phone.
Frantic that he might be missing some vital call, he braved smelly
phone booths to check his messages. Then, realizing that he had gone
an hour without reading his email, he hunted down an internet cafe.
Perhaps this was solely intended as humour, but I have a feeling that
there is more than a nugget of truth to it.

The other article asked what I considered a funny question - do you
remember your mom's phone number? Well, of course I do. However, the
author went on to admit that he did not, nor did he know her address.
He also acknowledged that his handwriting has become practically
illegible because he only types. The truly frightening thing, though,
was when he listed statistics. In a recent survey of cell phone users,
54% answer the phone while out to dinner, 57% answer while going to
the bathroom, and 33% are fine with answering their cell phone during
sex.

I recognize that I'm out of touch. Even in my own moderately
conservative Mennonite church, people look shocked when they ask us
"You don't have cell phones?" Clearly we are not Luddites, since Mr D
is a gamer and I run a blog on my laptop, but we have made a conscious
choice - much like the Old Order Mennonites do - to limit technology
at home which does not improve our family and our lives. We manage
with a simple land phone in the apartment. And I am sure it helps that
my closest friend in this city is Old Order Mennonite and still uses a
black dial up phone with a 6' cord. (Have you ever tried to explain
Ebay or Kijiji or MLS to someone who has never looked at a computer
screen? How about MMORPGs? LOL)

What really struck me, though, was one of the comments. Someone
sneered that hospitals mean doctors don't need herbal remedies,
glasses mean people can see, cars mean we don't need to be in shape to
walk everywhere, hammers mean we don't need to build houses from
sticks, and smart phones mean that everyone is more productive in many
parts of their lives.

The glasses and hammer analogies are a bit silly, but I have to say
that the hospital and car analogies are spot on. I'm rather fond of
herbal medications. They won't help you if you need brain surgery, but
then again a hospital's no place for treating a chest cold. I think
that, for a long time, we did forget that there are natural remedies
for many of the ills that ail us. Not everything - from a cold to an
uncomplicated childbirth - require a hospital or doctor. And,
honestly, can any of us really argue that it is a good thing that cars
allow us to get so out of shape and lazy? An argument could be made,
of course, that it is good that cars allow us to travel longer
distances, and I think about that when I play taxi or delivery service
between L and her mother - the trip is a good hour by a horse and
buggy and must be planned and organized as a day trip.

This zombification of our society extends far beyond these
smartphones. Outside of some very conservative Mennonite groups (Old
Order Mennonites and Old Order Amish, in particular) and the small
segment of society that are prep-oriented, how many people could
manage if the power went out for an extended period of time or if the
grocery store shelves were not stocked? How many could, actually, walk
a mile if needed or hammer a nail properly? Few know how to infuse
even a simple tea for treating coughs or wrap a baby in a flat flannel
diaper.

I know that I'm likely preaching to the choir, at least with my
regular readers. But this does concern me. I'd love to hear your
thoughts.