Tuesday, March 29, 2011

News Junkie, virtue or addiction?

I was on holiday in Cebu, initially, intentionally avoiding my daily diet of cyber-socializing. Yet the very first solace I found was the hypnotic hum of cable-news in air-conditioned rooms. And then the final clincher, a devastating earthquake in my home nation, Japan. It was then I wish I had my own computer, and hung-tense on the remote, clicking between BBC, Singapore News, and CNN.  There was absolutely little I could do, yet still, I stared blankly fixed on the TV monitor, poolside in paradise.

Since, I have returned to my 27" iMac, Facebook, and the labyrinth of connectivity in my home. I can only question both the soothing rub of inter-connectedness, with friends and family, and the obvious futility of simply knowing what has happen, but, in fact, doing so very little.

There has been a blanket of benefits, all of us donating in a myriad of ways, yet in the end we all dangle on our own bootstraps. So, like my neighbors, I prepare for work, check on friends and family, and fall back into the routine. In our own immediate world, we are still alive, still connected, still well enough to login one more time.

No comments: