Sometimes communication isn't key!

Recently I went on a trip to a wake boarding camp in Thailand. Out in the back and beyond, the middle of nowhere. How nice it was to shut off my phone for a week, have virtually no internet use and for once being completely out of touch with the real world.

We've become so reliant on modern technologies to keep in touch, internet, social networking sites, mobiles that give you access to everything that they're constantly 'binging' every few seconds with emails, messages and notifications for any one of the hundreds of applications available to us. I find it highly amusing that when out with a group of friends for drinks or dinner, everyone sits there, mobiles all present on the table and every so often you'll look around and find several people all glued to their handsets at one point or another during the evening. Can't we just put them in our bags and enjoy the company of one another? And don't get me started on the people who sit their with two or even three phones? Really? Is that really necessary?

Do people actually talk to one another properly? Or are we just slaves to the handsets, sending emails, BBM's, Face Book or Twitter updates. I remember the days before mobile phones, where you arranged to meet friends and you had to turn up, you couldn't send a lame text message ten minutes before with some pathetic excuse as to why you can't make it.

Keeping in touch is one thing, but when does it go too far? One of the latest applications to sweep my current group of friends is Four Square. Basically you 'check-in' at locations and it broadcasts your whereabouts to your added friends, gaining you points for each check-in, new location added, or if you checked-in with your friends. So now the entire world can know your location at any given time - perfect for would be thieves keeping an eye on your house!

I think technology is great and it's progression and advancement is lightning speed these days, but I think there are sometimes when you just need to shut it all down and go back to basics, enjoying the company that you're in without the constant 'bings'.