None of us are strangers to the convenience and excess of the information age, but how often do we really stop and think about how twisted our social interactions have become? We text instead of call, we chat online instead of face-to-face, and we quantify our “friendships” with websites like thefacebook and myspace. I usually don’t have a problem with this, and I’m also slightly obsessive about updating my facebook profile (or maybe just changing my picture), texting my friends humorous anecdotes (come on, who doesn’t like a good text?), and emptying my email inbox multiple times a day. I haven’t even purchased a stamp since I was mailing postcards from the end of the world. Real mail, what is that?
You can facebook the cute girl in your Organic Chemistry class, finding out her favorite movies before you even muster the courage to say hello and you can check the away message of the scrawny guy on your hall freshmen year who returned to campus after a semester abroad with a much increased sex appeal to find out where he’s having dinner, only to “coincidentally” run into him as he’s getting another glass of water. Even WesMatch is passé; no longer do we quantify our best matches with silly personal psychology, but we now judge prospective objects of interest by their witty profiles and friendly (or pretentiously artsy) photos. And if they’re not plugged in? Forget it, clearly.
That said, this acceptance of technology and accessibility has ruined all elements of surprise, especially on “holidays” (Hallmark invented it, it’s not real, despite what flower shops the world over would have you believe) like Valentine’s Day.
So maybe I’m proposing that Consumerist Cheese aside, we should take heed to this day celebrating love and step away from our technological crutches. Walk to the library, not knowing if Susie’s going to be studying in Club O and be genuinely surprised when you run into her as you both reach for the three-hole puncher. Get take-out from Red & Black and flash your pearly whites at the guy who made your sandwich, who remains a seductive mystery because you have not obsessively researched his favorite movies and most-recent party faux-pas. Give your roommate a hug instead of a smiley-faced IM, send your sister a real card, and that cute guy at the gym? Who said secret admirer notes went out of style in 2nd grade? You know his box number because you’ve spent the last 20 minutes staring at his newly-updated facebook profile, so use it.
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