Technology & Isolation

I've been thinking about something, and I know it's not the most original thought, but still. Some technology really seems to isolate. My husband gave me an iPod for Mother's Day. It was very sweet of him to do that and I have downloaded some songs that I wanted to own but just always checked out from the library. But guess what: Beyond trying it out, I have never used the iPod. I don't know when to use it. My ears are needed elsewhere. All day long I have to be able to listen to my children. I can't isolate myself by plugging my ears up. When I exercise I either need to hear Bryan Kest tell me what yoga move to do next, or else I want to hear the beautiful songbirds when I go walking. And sometimes, I just love silence. So when do I use the iPod?

Secondly, our dear blogs. On one level, blogs increase my ability to stay caught up with others, especially those that live far away from me. Blogs even decrease my isolation by increasing my virtual social network. However, here is one interesting point: there are people who live near me, who I see at church and at playgroup, and yet we find out more about each other on our blogs than we do by talking in person or on the phone! In that case, it seems like we've distanced ourselves from each other. We've gone from personal to virtual. Maybe reading others' blogs appeals to our snooping tendencies. We can rubberneck without having to get involved.

I'm glad people care about me and want to read my blog. Thanks for reading and please don't stop! I also really enjoy checking out everyone else's blogs. But maybe sometimes I should put down the mouse and pick up the phone. I definitely prefer personal friendship to virtual friendship if given the choice. What do you think? How does technology affect our relationships?