Passing Time

[Loren Singh]

On Monday morning I was on a plane returning home from San José, California to Phoenix, Arizona. Sitting next to me on the plane was a young woman of about age 20 or so. My guess is that she was a college student. I brought along a paperback book to read to pass the time of the 2-hour flight. As soon as she sat down, she started texting furiously on her cell phone until the announcement came over the P.A. system to turn off all mobile communication devices. Once we were in the air, the first thing she did was to pull out her iPod and plug its earphone in her ear. Immediately after that, she pulled out her laptop computer and started to play a video game on it. Getting bored with that after about ten minutes, she then started to edit and revise a term paper that she had previously drafted. When the flight attendant came by to ask our preferences for complimentary beverages, she was so engrossed with her iPod and laptop that she was oblivious of the flight attendant's query. She was in her own little electronic universe — a virtual reality world of sorts. This particular episode got me to thinking about the generational divide between us. I was able to pass the time with a paperback book. Her experience was all electronic. This is what the world has become.

[Bull]

I find it somewhat ironic you would post this on a medium you question.

[realteal]

Sounds like a new version of "Turn on, tune in and drop out."
Connections around the globe at the cost of real life interaction. It is a whole new way of life, LS.
I sometimes encounter this with my children, who have iPods and iPhones. I'm barely surviving with a cameraless phone that texts.
What do you think the long-term repercussions are?