Is it worth it?

We are in a technology saturated culture....

Recently upon going to a pro- Israel conference, I noticed that my generation is extremely attached to the technology around them. I watched people "live tweet" powerful quotes and constantly interact with others through smart devices.

As I sat in a room with some incredibly connected individuals, I saw how out of the loop I was. I didn't have a twitter, or a facebook. I had no idea what their other counterparts were; tumblr, google-plus, and others were not even in my vocabulary at this point. I couldn't tell the difference between a tweet and a hashtag and barely knew if it was tweeter or twitter and could really give a hoot!

Despite my lack of ability to tweet, text, and look up 20 different news stations within a few seconds... I was able to hold a conversation and keep eye contact; face to face contact has high value to me. When the speakers said something profound, I jotted it down with a pen, in a notebook to be stashed away for later use. Maybe in a blog post, or to be inspired when I went on a journey to change the world... These quotes would be stashed in my heart for a moment to light a fire when speaking to others. Still I felt inferior to my tech-savvy counterpart. I was lost in a sea of faces lit by the glow of a smart phone or ipad.

I realized I couldn't resist the culture that was rising around me. I fell with the rise of the pressure and reluctantly got a twitter (just a plug: you can follow me: @victoriaqwilcox)! It has been a love/hate relationship between my account and I. I sometimes tweet similar tweets two or three times because I don't remember that I can put multiple people's names in the tweet. Or I have tweets that are probably very difficult to understand because I just can't fit my full thought into the 130 characters provided. I become frustrated and confused. It's difficult to conform to this idea of tweeting my exciting thoughts.

I have felt like an outcast in a generation that knows just what to do. With just over twenty followers on my twitter account; I must have something interesting to say! Or else they have followed me out of pity, perhaps a mixture of both. I hope they find a quote or a statement inspiring or informative, or maybe my thoughts will encourage them to dig deeper than surface level. I mean I think that's what people are supposed to get out of twitter anyways. I am still not sure what I am chasing after with my twitter account. Or maybe I am just following the goal that was placed before me at SALT in Texas averaging approximately 5 tweets a day.

However, all of this brings me to the question... Is it worth it? With being connected to society and allowing them into your life via 130 characters or through photos on facebook... All in the name of connection, are we really becoming a more connected society? It's hard pressed to get together with people without having someone take a phone call or send a text message. I am also guilty of this. With all of this connection, I must ask myself if it's really creating a better society... Or are we just creating a society that cannot connect on more than a surface level. I text to the car, I talk on the phone while I am walking outside... Sometimes I believe that I fail to observe the environment that encompasses me.

Are we so lost in texting and tweeting, and whatever else there is that we are walking off a cliff with phone in hand?