Marcelo Cadena from Ecuador Marcelo Cadena has written an imaginary short story about a webaholic named Steve. I was walking around. It was cold and it started to rain. I was looking for a restaurant or a café where I could sit and have something to drink, when I saw one. I crossed the street and I was there. I sat at a round table and asked for a coffee. While I was waiting for my beverage, I realized that there were other people in the place, but I felt their loneliness. I saw their bodies, but I couldn't feel their souls. That was because their souls didn't belong to them; instead they belonged to the Net. I stood up and walked between the tables. When I came to the biggest computer, I saw a thin, small man sitting in front of it. "I'm Steve", he answered after I asked him a couple of times what his name was. "I can't talk with you. I'm busy", he said. I thought he was working, and I apologized. He didn't say anything. Before going back to my seat, I wanted to see what he was doing, so I stood behind him. He was not working. He was chatting online with somebody—probably someone he didn't know—and, at the same time, he was playing a computer game—a war game. I was surprised. Why didn't Steve want to talk with me? I tried again to communicate with that computer geek, but not a word came out of his mouth. I touched his shoulder, but there was no reaction. I was getting upset. I put my hand in front of the monitor, and he started to shout, "Leave me alone!" I took a few steps back. I was ashamed. I wanted to look and see if all those people in the café were looking at me, so I raised my head, but there was nobody interested in what was happening. I walked back to my table, and I noticed everybody was using the computers. At this moment I realized the people in that place were having a cup of coffee and a nice conversation with their machines. All of them were more interested, particularly Steve, in having a relationship with the computer. I wouldn't want to imagine the future of human beings if they preferred sharing their lives with machines instead of with people. I was worried and I sank in my thoughts. I didn't even realize that the coffee was bad, just as Steve didn't even realize that there was a person next to him.
Word Power: Words to Communicate about Addictions Return to: Modern Day Addictions | Issue 9 | Home Page TOPICS Online Magazine - ©1997-2007 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics mag@gmail.com |
