Engage! A Change in Philosophy

I’m a big fan of Star Trek, especially “Star Trek – The Next Generation”. One of Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s catchphrases was “Engage!” to his crew as they were ready to go into warp drive.

This phrase came to mind to me last week as I waiting to get some blood-work done at a lab.

I was sitting there waiting for my turn with 11 other people and I noticed how many people were on their communication devices. I did a quick count and was amused that half of the people were in fact engaged electronically and seemed to be completely oblivious to the real.

As a matter of fact, that was the original theme of my article, about how technology takes us out of the “here and now” and we are no longer as socially engaged with those around us.

However, as I thought through this, I came to the realization that this was an easy judgment to make. Pondering a little more, I considered that people in fact may still be socially engaged, but that I wasn’t in any position to be able to tell. Maybe the young man was texting with this girlfriend and was completely engaged with her during this exchange. Perhaps the elderly lady was in a chat room with her daughter and they were taking advantage of an opportunity to “spend time” together (in an electronic form).

Despite this revelation in my thought process, I think that there is still cause of concern as it relates to technology and social engagement. In some respects, I think that my original concerns were still valid. For example, should there have been some incident and all of my fellow waitees were called upon to give evidence as to who was there and who wasn’t, I’m quite certain that this electronic engagement would have meant that at least half of the people left the lab not even noticing who they were sitting down with.

In that respect, I think that society has lost a little of its charm.

I can’t help wonder about how many opportunities are being lost because people are oblivious to their fellow flesh-and-blooders. I think of something my Mom told me about how she took a cab recently. She had a nice conversation with the driver and for all intents and purposes adopted him. Had my Mom been absorbed with the electronic life, the two of them would not have had made a dent in each other’s lives.

I think a little ruefully that these types of encounters enrich us. They help us to learn about different views and to grow as we gain new experiences and meet different types of people.

I don’t really so much have a problem with the electronic form of engagement, but the biggest thing for me is that it generally involved engagement with people already in our circle; there can be minimal interaction with others that we might get in the “real world”.

Still, I suppose that it has its benefits. It’s extraordinarily useful for nurturing those relationships that we’ve already developed, so I can’t be too critical. I guess for me, it’s like this type of electronic interaction should be the dessert, not the main course.

In closing – next time you’re on the subway or in a cab and having the opportunity, I will give the following advice…

Engage!