Completely Disconnected

CNN's headline story today is about sightings of an Amazon tribe that has never been contacted by any outsiders (i.e. the other 6.2 billion people on Earth).

Can you imagine being completely disconnected from everything? What does that feel like? Clearly they aren't too fond of the planes flying over their heads as you can see their bows pointed towards the sky.

It actually reminds me of the South Park episode from a few weeks ago about the Internet that parodied John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. No one knows what to do without the internet - or even how to handle being rationed 30 second bites.

I'm guilty of this too - going from my laptop each morning to my office desktop and back again - chatting with friends as far away as Iraq while scrolling through blogs, Facebook, and Gmail. But there are definitely times when I find myself needing to get away, away from being available for anyone and everyone that has my screen name, email address, or Facebook. That's why the lake is perfect. My mom has a permanent ban on TV, microwaves, and any kind of phone line. You have to actually be there with the family and DO things.

I wonder sometimes what the strain of being connected to so many people will be in the future? Will the expectation of maintained friendships across long distances with so many people eventually drive us crazy? As our social networks become wider and wider will our inner circles of truly trusted and available friends become tighter and tighter?