Has Technology Murdered Vacations?

The last few summers, I have spent July on Bainbridge Island, Wash. — a Northwestern paradise, of sorts — where I am now. The temperature is about 70. The skies clear. Flowers are blooming everywhere. Deer are frolicking in my backyard.

And what am I doing? I am typing this.

Earlier this morning, I was checking Drudge, my email, Twitter, Facebook and Pajamas Media, not necessarily in that order. Then I had a quick peek at The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

I'm supposed to be on vacation. Frankly, I should have my head examined. In this modern world, we are too wired to relax. The Internet has murdered vacation.

I know, you're saying, shut the damn thing off. But I can't. I'm addicted.

For some people, it's crack. For others, alcohol. Still others can't get enough bacon cheeseburgers. But I'm on Wi-fi, 3G, 4G, whatever G ... forever.

And worst of all is "social media." Whoever gave it that name? It's antisocial, in the extreme. Not only does it discourage talking to another human being personally, it's put an end to looking at the world around us. Goodbye, Wordsworth; goodbye, Shelley; goodbye, enjoying nature in general.

Yesterday, while walking through what's known locally as the Grand Forest, an awesome agglomeration of Douglas fir and cedars with little creeks and bridges out of Hobbit-land, instead of staring at the wonders around me, I was mesmerized by the screen of my iPhone, answering a never-ending stream of tweets, emails, not to mention alerts, one reminding me that I was in the Grand Forest and the GPS was on.

So what am I to do, dear reader? What is the cure? Every time I consider going cold turkey, I am flooded with "what ifs." What if the stock market crashes? What if Israel bombs Iran? What if Barack Obama resigns in favor of Sarah Palin? If I'm not fully wired, I will be the last to know. And I'm the CEO of a media company ... not that that matters. I'm so addicted, if I were a bus driver in New Jersey or a barber in Dubuque, I'd still have the same problem.

So I'm trapped. But maybe in the future it won't be so bad for me. I won't suffer for my addiction because I won't have a choice. Our connectivity will be implanted in our brains. We will be wired from birth. Everyone will know everything all of the time and be on call all of the time.

No one will have a vacation because we will be programmed not to think of it.

Then I can relax!

To find out more about Roger L. Simon, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

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