My Creative Writing teacher once said that technology somehow brings us farther apart. The convenience of just sending a person text messages or electronic mails widens the gap between the concerned people. Rather than seeing and meeting each other physically for updates on each other’s lives, one could just twiddle with a few buttons, click send, and voila! You’re connected. The problem, I guess, with these technological innovations is that they take away the luxury of physical and intimate contact.
But what about if there’s no other way? What if the person is out of the country? Surely you can’t just take a plane just to see how he or she is.
Niel, a dear friend of mine, celebrated her birthday yesterday. Problem is, she’s in Australia. So how the heck could we celebrate her 18th birthday with her?
Through the Internet, of course!
Yesterday, her group of friends organized a surprise potluck webcam party so we could celebrate her birthday “with” her. They set a laptop on a table, attached a webcam beside it and pointed it to the dining area. Though there were some technical problems (storm in Australia and late guests and we had to wait for a few more hours til uptime was possible), it was sure an exciting idea.
The party was awkward and exciting at the same time. It felt weird seeing the birthday girl on the laptop screen as we all were seated in the tables, eating. But it just felt good that we can see her and she can see us.
Belated happy birthday Niel! May you bring home the joys and happiness of kangaroos and koala bears. :)
October 26th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
salamat ba!!!!! ang kyut kyut mo talaga! haha!
October 28th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Of course, cute ako. :))