AS I WATCHED the Julia make her way down the County Cork coastline and into Cork Harbour, I knew it would be an event I couldn't tweet or text to anyone the moment it was happening because where I was standing (at left), I had no mobile phone signal. I knew that I would be out of range because a map of coverage for O2-Ireland suggested weak mobile signal strength for the area I planned to spend my weekend. And as that weekend unfolded, every adult member of my extended family complained about having "no bars" on their phones. Why is that so important? "Because these days you need to be able to work out your schedules." With whom? I wondered if the people surrounding you at the moment should count more than the people you want to hug in a week's time. I wonder if our 21st century dependency on mobile messaging, tweeting, and web browsing is sucking signal strength out of face-to-face intimacy. I do not believe that cellular connectivity deserves to pre-empt, replace, or distort the value of one's physical presence. But I'm not one to impose my values on people. That said, I'd rather stop to smell the sea breeze, to hear pelicans peck on logs, and watch lazy ships sail.Photo shot at Trabolgan, County Cork, Ireland. Readers may retweet this post without feeling dirty by being connected.
