The art of communication.
May 12th 2011 14:51
The other day I was sitting outside of Starbuck's at Island Plaza enjoying a latte with a couple of friends. The weather was very hot and humid. I noticed a table a few feet away where four young people in their teens sat. They were right in the middle of my field of view, so I couldn't help but look at them. I was involved in a conversation about world events and was not really paying much attention to the teenagers. In a lull during our conversation I noticed that not one of the four teenagers was talking. Three of them had cell phones and were either involved in texting or playing games. Their fingers were quickly and nimbly gliding over the cell phone keypads and their faces exhibited an intense, yet blank concentration. The fourth teenager was occupied with his laptop and deeply engrossed in what appeared to be Facebook. Not one of the teenagers appeared to be aware of the existence of the others.
I mentioned this scene to my friends and they watched in amazement for a while. Then our observations turned to a table inside of Starbuck's. There sat a father, presumably, and his teenage son and a daughter of about 10 years old. A touching family scene? No. Each of them had an ipad and each of them was engrossed in some unknown activity. Their faces were expressionless as they sipped their drinks and manipulated their ipads. My friends and I watched to see if anyone from the inside table or from the outside table actually uttered a spoken word. To our knowledge no one did.
To top off this session of people watching, I observed a young girl and an older woman, who looked like her mother, go into Starbuck's, order drinks and come outside to sit. They both sat at seperate tables. They both pulled out cell phones and they both began to text. My first thought was wether or not they were texting each other. In a very few minutes they finished their drinks and left, without saying a word to each other. My friends and I felt so old fashioned. We sat there and actually talked with each other.
To top off this session of people watching, I observed a young girl and an older woman, who looked like her mother, go into Starbuck's, order drinks and come outside to sit. They both sat at seperate tables. They both pulled out cell phones and they both began to text. My first thought was wether or not they were texting each other. In a very few minutes they finished their drinks and left, without saying a word to each other. My friends and I felt so old fashioned. We sat there and actually talked with each other.
One aquarium of two.
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