Connectivity

Yesterday, while listening to the local Oldies station in my car, I heard the 1976 Hit by CW McCall "Convoy". For those who do not have a clear memory of 1976, there was an awful lot happening in the world at that time. It was the nation's bi-centennial; a time that should have been filled with national pride. Yet people were apathetic, still recovering from the scandal of Watergate and the subsequent pardon of Richard Nixon.
But it was also a time when the general population gained the ability to "reach out" to others beyond standard telephony. It was the time of the CB (Citizen's Band) radio. So 44 years ago we saw the inchoate form of some of the first cell phones--which had to be installed in your car just like the CB.

But what I remember most about the CB was the idea that I could get on the air and just start talking to a stranger. At 13, this fascinated me. Think about how much has changed in the last 4 1/2 decades...first, we had a CB radiio in our car. In 1981 we had cable installed in our home. After I left home for college (electric typewiter in hand) I remember my parents getting a car phone. It was in this big black bag in very large and cumbersome to use. In retrospect I wonder what made them think they needed one. Few people had one at that time so they were really only good for emergencies because minutes were so very expensive back then. But just like the CB, the car phone of circa 1985 was another attempt to reach out beyond the walls of our previous world and connections.

Then I remember getting in my first computer in 1993. With a phone line I could connect to Prodigy and AOL--the two primary web portals at the time. But again, you could only communicate with others who had the same technology. You couldn't send an email to a Prodigy user for example from the AOL portal, and vice versa. But I remember spending time in chat rooms--mesmirized by the on-going communication happening between strangers in chat-rooms on any variety of subjects. Again, low market penetration notwithstanding, it was just one more way of reaching outside our traditional walls of communication.

In 1999 I got my first cell phone. It was bulky and cumbesome (but I never had a problem finding it in my purse!) and the minutes were ungodly expensive not to mention roaming fees. But finally, a method of instant communication became available. In a short time, everyone had a cell phone and today 11 years later, I do not know anyone who does not have a cell phone. More than 80% of households have a computer and spend time on the  internet on a daily basis. I recently read that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is Adults 65+.

Today, through convergence, we are instantly accessible and are able to instantly express our own views in a public forum regardless of who we are or our station in life.

As I consider this evolution of communication devices, it speaks to me of the basic human need to not be alone; to not feel alone and insignificant in this massive world of ours. As human beings we need to reach out and to be part of a group, or many groups, but to be connected to something outside ourselves. Its almost an existential question. I am if I am connected.

I believe this is what drives social media today. In a few short years we have reached critical mass in terms of the number of people using social media to connect with others. The technology increases every single day but ultimately it all comes down to one thing. I exist to be connected.