Do you like to read the news?

The world is changing. Sure, we all know that. And a lot of that change is good. Maybe even better than just good. We don't have a cure for cancer yet but it's certainly not for a lack of trying. But cancer patients are living longer and with a better quality of life than ever before. Lots of people with lots of terrible diseases are living longer with a better quality of life. Cars last longer and need less maintenance than in the past. There are myriad new 'things' that make our lives more healthy, convenient and fun. Here's a list, they're all not for everbody, but I'll bet there are some on the list that you like. (And spend an awful lot of time with.)
XBox, iPhone, flat-panel LED televisions, Facebook, Galaxy S3/4, Skype, apps for everything that do almost everything, bluetooth earphones for cellphones, 24-hour news that you can get everywhere, on your phone, computer or tablet, 3G/4G phones that are now faster than your computer at home, e-books and e-readers, you can buy and read books without ever going to a bookstore and buying a book, DVR, digital video recording, you can record and watch whatever you like on TV anytime you like, streaming audio and video and to anything in the house, headphones for your cellphone that allow you to listen to music and that also interrupt your music with phone calls and let you talk on the phone without removing them... I could go on and on. Oh, I almost forgot a big one. E-mail. Where the hell would we be without email. Not only can we get email, we can get it instantly 24/7. On our smartphones. You can talk with friends coast-to-coast and learn about the lastest penis enlargement pills, instantly. You gotta love those smartphones.
The phones have gotten smart, but I'm not so sure we are anymore. With all these wonderful conveniences, especially the electronic ones that keep us connected, we can be in touch, informed, accessible, available all the time no matter where we are. Even when we're on the toilet taking care of inevitable chores, we can be 'in-touch'. We can stay on top of what is happening with the Kardashians, the Lohans, the Duck Dynasty's, whatever might float your boat. And all that is great. Wonderful. Amazing. Right?
Maybe. Maybe not. Don't you miss the good old days? If you're under thirty you don't know what the good old days are, so never mind. Put your headphones back on and turn up your ipod. If you're over thirty, think back. There were no cellphones. No Facebook. No email. Were we hampererd back then? Sure didn't feel like it. When you sat out on the porch with a beer or a lemonade and you didn't have an mp3 player, what did you do? You talked with someone you were looking at and enjoyed the company, the conversation. Or you read a book. So it had a cover and paper pages and weighed a pound, what was wrong with that? Or maybe, you watched the sun set and comtemplated or cogitated or daydreamed or maybe, you closed your eyes and fell asleep. But you weren't a slave to a ringtone of any kind. You weren't talking on the phone to whoever called and thus commanded your time for the next several minutes. The phone might ring in the house but you could and often did just ignore it and stay where you were. You figured if it was important they'd call back. And they did. You didn't know who the Kardashians were and didn't care. You could relax. You could control interruptions. Life was simpler, less stressful. I sure miss the good old days.
But the world has changed and that's not the way it is anymore. If you want to relax and de-stress, you have to first want to, then you have to put some effort into it, there's probably several gadgets you'll have to turn off. You may even have to get on a plane and go somewhere and leave all your gadgets at home. But how many of us actually do that? Just what I thought. We get up every day and strap that smartphone to our belt or drop it in our purse and away we go. If we're going on vacation we'll still strap it or drop it. Now e-books are good though. Reading a good novel is as good as it gets. E-readers make that easy to do. As long as they dont accept calls or emails.