laurieinseattle

After attending the WordPress meet up on Thursday night, I hopped the bus home. The bus route I was on is not one I take frequently so I made sure to pay attention to the route as it was late night, and the bus driver wasn’t calling out the major stops. I knew I was close to my stop but was not sure how close it was because I couldn’t see the street signs from my vantage point on the bus.Therefore, I asked the driver; “Is this as close as you get to 50^th?”  The driver took a long pause, as if it was a complicated math problem. Finally she spoke, “Yes this is as close as I get to 50^th.” I got off the bus. Walking up the street to the corner, I realized she stopped on 50^th! This has not been the only instance this week where I have observed someone not being aware of his or her surroundings or situation. Earlier in the week, I witnessed a man texting while walking. He was so busy texting that he didn’t notice caution cones had been assembled and there was a man on a ladder washing windows. Luckily, he walked under the ladder and not into it. Which if he had walked into would have caused serious injury to the man on the ladder. The texting man became aware of his situation just in time but next time he might not be so lucky.

In my situation, if the driver had called out the stops she would have been aware she had just stopped at 50^th. Instead, customer service failure. It was to my favor, but what about those that rely on the bus driver to recall the route so they get off at the right stop. Again, this was one instance where if someone had been aware of what they were doing or aware of their surroundings they could have been more effective. In general as denizens of the first world our attention span and attention to detail fades further and further into obscurity.

From a personal perspective, I have found my exposure to television significantly decreases my ability to focus. There was a three-year period where I found myself instantly without television. I found it difficult at first but then I adapted. I adapted by reading more. The reading not only increased my focus but my vocabulary as well. So why then would I have cable installed? At the time, I didn’t realize how much of an affect the lack of television had on my life. It wasn’t until I found myself unable to focus to read books that I had previously enjoyed that I realized there may be a correlation.  It makes me wonder how many others are in similar situations. We often hear it on the news how if someone had noticed XYZ  or if this person had put their mobile phone away an accident could have been avoided. In many states including Washington State they are starting to fine people for being on mobile phones while driving. We as a society recognize our lack of awareness is a problem yet we don’t take it seriously enough to be diligent about it.

Can you imagine if a person from the first world was made to survive in the third world? How long do you think it would take before the person had an accident or was killed? Technology is great don’t get me wrong, and has enriched our lives in many ways. But as citizens of the first world we are over stimulated and are paying dearly for it in the tangible and intagible out comes.