Multitasking

In class the other day we talked a little bit about multitasking, whether it be updating a twitter status while in a meeting or sending an e-mail while taking the cab. I think one very common multitask is texting and drive. Here is my two cents: just say no. Nothing needs you attention more than the road and drivers around you when you are driving. There are too many accidents and deaths for such a simple, avoidable distraction.
Anyway, this post isn’t about texting and driving, it is about our ability to multitask aided by technology.
Nowadays when we can be completely connected to everyone all the time, we can multitask like never before. We can send an e-mail while out to eat, or read a news story while sitting in class. It was until these past few years that we had all these things available to us anywhere. It used to be if I wanted to send an e-mail, I had to sit down at my desk, log onto my computer and go to my e-mail providers website. If I wanted to read a news story I had to buy a newspaper.
I don’t always look at these technologies as conveniences as I do as unnecessary distractions. I don’t always want to be available via phone. I don’t always want to get an e-mail as soon as it comes in. There are times when I just want to relax and forget about work or school. I know that someday when I am in the workforce it will probable be expected that I am available via e-mail 24/7, especially with the popularity of smart phones.
Sometimes my life is so busy I feel like something has to give but nothing can. I feel that if I join the move to get an iPhone or use my smart phone to the fullest of its abilities, I will be even more involved and submerged into the busyness of my life: always checking my e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and whatever else I am a user of.
Look: the new iPhone promotes its ability to multitask, http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/multitasking.html.
Many of us think, “How did our parents live without all of this? The Internet? IPhones? Facebook?” Well, they probably spent more time communicating face-to-face with people. Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I secretly wish it was still that way. I am a huge people person, I value my friendships a lot and sometimes I wish I was distracted by and connected to so many things!