Can you hear me now?

I’ve noticed lately that a lot of people complain about the amount of time spent using technology. Some people think that we have become reliant on it and that we spend much more time than necessary using it. My problem isn’t how much time we spend using it, but simply howwe use that time. For informative and educational purposes, I think that technology is a great tool to use. I’ll be the first to admit that I run to the computer anytime I need to look something up, whether it be a recipe, a news story, or a historical fact. That type of use of technology isn’t taking away from our social or educational lives, as some may offer as an excuse for having a negative view towards technology. However, using the computer to sit in front of for hours to play on-line games, or “surf the web” isn’t healthy. That’s when we need to be outside, socializing, or educating ourselves.  Today, I went to have a consultation to get my wisdom teeth out. I met with the dentist for approximately 3 minutes. The other 35 minutes of my appointment were spent in front of a television watching a DVD with all the facts on wisdom teeth. Even the dentists are too busy these days to actually sit down one-on-one and do what they get paid to do: talk teeth. Also, have you ever found yourself in a situation where everyone (minus yourself) in a group is using their cellphone and it seems completely normal?  Since when is that normal? How is completely ignoring the people you are with to talk to someone else ‘more important’ an acceptable thing to do? Before cell phones, people would have to excuse themselves from a group or situation to make a phone call. Now, people just whip it out and text away, or talk without thinking its rude. Well, it is. Someone should teach a cell phone etiquette class.