r|psa: ... heard on Forum this morn

KQED Radio: The End of Solitude


i thought this morn's forum was kind of interesting ... particularly given that i also took the day off to spend my time on some personal matters, run errands, weave in/out of my day with a few milestone goals, and continue to reflect with some life planning.

if you give it a listen ... i'd be interested in what initial thoughts you have. and for me, a quote that came to mind ...

Solitude is painful when one is young,
but delightful when one is more mature.
~ albert einstein

(from KQED's website) The advent of new technologies like text messaging and online social networking makes it easier to connect with friends far and wide, but at what cost? We talk with literary critic William Deresiewicz about the repercussions of hyper-connectivity and a generation that, he argues, seems unable to tolerate solitude and quiet reflection.
Host: Dave Iverson
Guests:
• William Deresiewicz, contributing writer for The Nation magazine, former associate professor of English at Yale and author of the recent article, "The End of Solitude" in the Chronicle of Higher Educatio

as i listened to this ... i thought about my time spent on facebook connecting with friends - and even more so, how i spent time connecting with friends prior to facebook. several years ago, i learned that verizon had a 6,000 minute plan; granted i used my mobile mainly for work, but i'm sure many will agree that the word locquacious certainly describes me. (my mobile minutes are much less, however, likely more than many others. and of course, i have unlimited texting.) additionally, people consider me a connector - i tend to keep in contact with folks and connect folks with each other. i sometimes affectionately terms this my sociology experiments (and perhaps some were experiments), but for the most part, the efforts to have friends meet friends is just that - friends meeting friends. admittedly, i really do like the old school face-to-face and voice-to-voice (sans the voicemail phone tag).

back in the day ... i quickly thought about my college days - given that the forum guest spoke about his college days. in the early 80s when i was in college, a few folks carried pagers (like a friend of mine who used it to conveniently manage his side business), but mostly, we just figured out when and where to meet and used our watch or the clock tower on campus. i vaguely recollect whether i used a pay phone; i'm sure i did at some point. but again, it was all about just making plans. and even then, no pda or cell phones. i think i had a planner i carried around or some sort of calendar. so like the guest, i could relate on some level. and also, i wrote (real pen to paper) letters to friends and family. (and back then, i also had a pretty high phone bill, but oh well!)

i'm not sure where exactly i'm heading with this thought tonight ... i do know that this reminds me of a friend who, using conventional societal terms, is a loner. (and here i realize i'm feeding in to this moniker, and perhaps it's not all quite true or accurate.) he tends not to use his cell phone much; it's used "to do" stuff - not just to text or chit-chat with people. phone at home? no answering machine or voice mail. e-mail? mainly to fulfill his keeping in contact with other enthusiasts of his hobby. and yet he pretty much gets about. one thing, however, is i've not really asked what/how he spends his solitude. perhaps it doesn't matter, but this makes me wonder what his thoughts are about this.

i do know this about today ... it was nice to weave in/out of my own space and to spend some time meeting up with folks (personally and on telephony-wise). i did get a new phone (finally after losing mine in early sept '08 and using a back-up phone of many-many-ages ago) and immediately called a friend (or two or three), texted, made sure to get my bberry to access a couple of e-mail accounts, fix the ring tones, and just got busy on that phone! (crazy!) just had to get connected! and while doing so, the forum discussion stuck in my head. i believe that is why i choose not to get on my computer (where i'd for sure have fb'd, e/m'd, etc.). but still - i was feeling like i needed to connect (immediately).

feeding my soul ... however, a few things i did today for a bit more to feed my soul was to make sure i was up to date on my health - physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional. made appointments that have been a bit past due (and a few just on time), got a spiritual reading done (which i've not done for more than a year), and journaling (pen to paper). and before i go to sleep, my reiki treatment.

solitude. what does it mean to you?