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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 9, 2007 - 31 Is technology ruining personal conversation? By Farrah Richardson GRADE 12, HOLY TRINITY `Conversation,' to tell our thoughts, feelings and ideas to family and friends. Sixty years ago it was impossible to go even a single day without talking or having a conversation with another human being. Today however, it is very much possible to go a day or two without interacting with another person. Think about it, one can work from home or finish business via e-mail, Internet or using a Blackberry. If grocery shopping or banking needs to be done, one can use the Internet for both. To contact a friend or family member all that needs to be done is a quick call from a cell phone. Want to be entertained? Just plug in your XBOX 360 and away you go! Need to listen to music or watch videos? Just pull out your IPod or MP3 player. The art of conversation is dead and the interaction between humans is disintegrating. Not only are we losing interaction between human beings, we are lacking intelligence as everyday tasks become simpler through technological instruments that are at our very fingertips. Undoubtedly there are geniuses in this world who have made great machines and have used technology for extraordinary things but for the everyday person, technology is making us lazy and less intelligent. If you cannot spell well, there is spell check on the computer, lacking mathematical skills, use a calculator, if you cannot tell the time on a clock, look at your cell phone or the television for a digital clock. If you are on a road trip and get lost, no problem, just turn on your GPS navigation system. Technology is moving fast and so are we as people. We no longer have time to sit down and talk with each another; we are constantly on the run. We chat, work, and respond through the use of technology. Due to technological advances, we as people have become emotionless, unassociated with one another and isolated. Children isolate themselves through the countless hours sitting on MSN, Myspace, YouTube, downloading videos or playing video games. Adults becomes emotionless by constantly being on-the-go from work at the office to driving their children to soccer games and piano lessons. In today's society, technology is such a part of our lives and our family that it is hard to separate the two. Conversation no longer consists of stories, opinions and feelings but rather stress, work and complaints. Technology consumes our lives and stops us from communicating with others. As a society, we are too far technologically advanced to try and reverse the situation because everything we do and each task we need to accomplish relies heavily upon computers, cell phones, the internet and other technological instruments. In order for us as humans to regain the art of conversation, it's time to put down the cell phone, take off the MP3 head phones, step away from the Internet, and grab a friend or family member and ask them how their day went. We dare you to compare your insurance rates. $837.00 /year $3,458 .00 /year You may be paying over 400% more for the same thing. Instantly compare what you're paying to over 30 other insurance company rates. InsuranceHotline.com arranges them by price, and gives you the 3 lowest. Rates between insurance companies can vary by 100's, even 1,000's of dollars. Jump on-line and compare. Plus your quote will be emailed to you, instantly. You'll be shocked how much savings you'll find in less than a few minutes. AUTOMOBILE · MOTORCYCLE · MARINE · HOME L I F E · H E A LT H · TRAVEL · COMMERCIAL InsuranceHotline.com Putting money back in your pocket. Etobicoke Yorkdale Mall North York­­Sherway Gardens Etobicoke ­ ­ Yorkdale Mall North York Sherway Gardens Thornhill ­ Promenade Mall Promenade Mall ® Registered trademark of Sears, licensed for use in Canada 416-621-6229 416-783-6309 416-621-6229 416-783-6309 905-881-7194 905-881-7194