from the book embracing now: pain, joy, healing, living.
depending on a slogan
and leaning on a tag line
we market products through
machines imitating humans
who know us very well
and can always tell
what we prefer.
to create and automate,
to track and detect,
providing venues
for various trends and tricks
to gain a touch
through technology’s
chatterbot for bottom line success.
displaying deep concerns,
our interests create the turns
we take when results
are all revealed.
the slogans and the phrases,
talking points,
performance, analytics,
the bounce and the brand,
the image on a screen,
the holding of a hand.
is this a healthy art?
are we controlling the control?
amid the artificial,
humans all are customers
in our goals of making profit,
holding data in our hands
and anticipations deep in our heads.
what is in our hearts?
but good business can
be good business when
remembering people as people
rather than numbers or machines.
caring can find a place
in today’s campaigns
for those willing
to see through sheets,
finding people
alive, real, and of value.
but how?
power off.
conversations on.
trends aside.
eye contact made
and feelings shared
while refusing to
track or maintain data.
people as people
with people
offscreen, untagged,
no slogan in sight.
My most favorite line in this post is “are we controlling the control?”. I found myself taken aback by my answer to this question: No. I’m not controlling the control. I am being controlled and I am not in the drivers seat. I am not in control. And that begs the question of who is in control or what is in control? If I am not in control, and God is not in control, when what am I a slave too? What am I worshipping that isn’t the Lord? I know how easy it is to value the superficial and I find myself getting caught up in the day to day pointless things. I pray that I would begin to see the Lord. To take time with Him. In this I can finally be able to see people, their needs, their goals, their hearts. I want to be closer to the Lord. I want to see more of Him and less of what our society has become. In this word lacking security and identity, I pray that He would find me here. I pray that I would find Him here.
In this world, there are a lot of things that we can get caught up in. Technology is a big one. If we turn that off, we can have a true connection with one another because there’s a difference between conversations online and in person. We won’t have to worry about anything on our phones.
Our duty, as a species that came up with all the technology, is to claim ownership of its process and really put ourselves in the driver seat of this revolution. I think that understanding what we did and what we have in our hands, with the goal of actually using it to enhance our personal interactions with each other and our interactions with things/’stuff’ is the only suitable way of taking charge of the influence technology has over our lives. I think there would be more dignity in it, rather than accepting that it has taken over to the point we can’t have a simple conversation anymore.
Humans tend to get so caught up in consumerism that we forget that we need to take a deeper look at real experiences. Instead of going to buy the newest technology the day it comes out, we need to take that time to spend time in the present with real interactions.
Technological advancement in communication like the way the internet has been adapted to do has made most of the world connected. But in ways it has damaged the way humans communicate with eachother. Its earth you can’t have one without the other.