Last night I was perfectly content sitting on my couch and NOT multitasking. I was doing one thing and one thing only. Watching Seinfeld re-runs. I was not on the phone or the laptop Facebooking, Twittering or blogging. I was just sitting there—like a tree stump dressed in grey sweatpants and a weathered In & Out Burger t-shirt—and it was glorious.
It was at this point that I saw a commercial for the newest ipad. The commercial showed a woman about my age, in the Apple store, looking at the shiny new gadget the salesman had just presented to her. She cautiously grasped the ipad like it was the Holy Grail and the moment it was in her hands, she was immediately transported to all of these exotic locales.
She traveled to remote sun-washed beaches, gourmet, five-star restaurants, rockin’ night clubs, casinos and both National and International landmarks. And all the while, she never looked up from that damn ipad. Apple’s selling point being that this device can go with you wherever, whenever and you can stay connected.
WTF?!?! Helloooo!!! You're in P-A-R-A-D-I-S-E. LOOK AROUND!!!
I’m sorry, am I the only one who has the desire to visit remote and exotic sun-washed beaches, gourmet, five-star restaurants, rockin’ night clubs, casinos and both National and International landmarks for the sole purposes of getting away from AND staying OUT of touch with the world? I mean, there’s a reason that the freakin’ screen savers and wallpapers on these things have pictures of Fiji and Mt. Kilimanjaro on them. Duh.
Though perhaps that is the final irony here… The place in which we’ve arrived on the evolutionary ladder of man vs. technology… If you’re toiling at your desk… you dream of Fiji or of standing in the shadow of Kilimanjaro. But if you’re actually IN Fiji or standing in the shadow of Kilimanjaro… you want to be at the office?!
I don’t know about you, but if I had the time and resources to travel to far-flung corners of the globe and visit the types of exclusive destinations that this chick was inhabiting in the ipad commercial… I would take that flat, wireless, super-sleek, state-of-the-art, hi-speed, touch-screen piece of crap capable of keeping me “connected” 24/7… and fling it as far as it would go.
Woman In Thrisis 
Oh Yea, are we so “techy” that even vacations have to be experienced vicariously thru the image and not the real thing???? Exactly.
Have to agree fling it right into the ocean:) I prefer to enjoy my vacation and be unplugged from the world while seeing the world. GRAB HOLD OF LIFE & LIVE IT TO ITS FULLEST – that piece of tech equipment will be there waiting for you when you come back!!!
Too funny! It’s important to live life and not let the pretty toys of technology take over. How about the car commercial where the grown kid stays home on FB while his/her parents are out having fun. I love that one!
I just want to know one thing….where’s the OFF button! I can just see me on an exotic beach with a gadget that cost me half a month’s salary and I drop it in the sand and then a wave washes over it and then I find out the warranty just ran out! All that so I can gloat to my friends on FB of what I am doing….Phttt right! 🙂
I completely agree. It’s as if these companies are feeding on the growing obsession, addiction they’ve placed in the population to be connected at all times. And those of us who are not under this hypnosis? We cannot escape its “touch” – I do not have the resources or time at the moment, either. What a pity!
I’m with you on single-tasking. I’m with you on being out of touch in exotic locales.
Still, I have to admit, I approach my ipad with a somewhat mystical reverence. (Ok that’s a bit of an understatment. I approach it more like Gollum holding his “precious” in LOTR).
What the hell, you were single tasking…what’s wrong with you? LOL A great deal of America doesn’t even know what it means to do one thing at a time, were just so saturated with technology these days we can’t even interact with our actual surroundings. I bet that chick is watching youtube videos of the ocean on her iPad! Sigh, what’s happening to us?
I know… crazy eh? I am hereby on a mission to SINGLE-TASK as much as possible!!