I am going to test my ability and reaction to news that I haven’t even read.  At least my reaction to visuals and graphic media relating to this apparent disaster.

You see, I am in an information bubble.  I only read the news I choose, for the most part.  I haven’t read a single article about the Haiti earthquake.  I haven’t seen any videos.  I haven’t seen any photographs.  My world revolves around what I have chosen to receive, because I am entirely in control of the information that comes to me, for the most part.

However what I have received is an onslaught of non-profit organizations’ emails and friends’ blog posts and friends’ facebook condolences and prayers telling me about this disaster.  They are affected.  And I am not.  I did not feel an earthquake.  None of my buildings collapsed.  I have the same access to food and water and shelter as I did yesterday and the day before and last year.  I don’t even know whether or not there really is anything to think about or worry about.  All I know are second-hand stories…

And so I’ll go and find an article, some photos, perhaps a video or two, and virtually step into another country, here in the comfort of my apartment in a warm room, dimly lit, getting ready to go to bed before I have to wake up tomorrow bright and early for another day on campus.  How will this affect me?

——————

Wow when I went on a webpage about the earthquake, there was a paragraph of text but when I saw the images, I was drawn in really quick.  I didn’t need to read the paragraph.  The fact that I saw people suffering and in pain, some photos of the dead, other photos of the buildings just utterly collapsed, it drew me in right away.  Seeing PEOPLE made it more real for me.  Just reading about people and their names wasn’t enough for me.  That didn’t internalize it enough.  The images, and some videos of the aftermath, have brought it close, almost to tears.

So it’s real.  And actually documented.  Countries from around the world are sending teams to help and search and rescue.  God help them to get there soon, to find a way to land and set up and to make a difference as soon as possible, before more die under the rubble or from their injuries.

This all seems pretty surreal.  I’ve gone on to my banking site to figure out how much I can give towards assistance there.. and CIDA will match every donation given through Power to Change/Global Aid Network. I’ll be praying tonight as well.  These are tangible ways to affect change directly.

And yet, tonight I’ll be going to bed, and the night will be quiet, my sleep likely undisturbed.  God help me not to move on.

Also read http://www.challies.com/archives/articles/neil-postman-on-the-earthquake-in-haiti.php for some thoughts on virtual disconnect and the effect of technology on our ability to internalize and bring change to what we find out about through the web.

I’ve been wanting to read this book called “Flickering Pixels” How Technology Shapes Your Faith, but haven’t been able to get a copy.  Here’s an interesting interview:

Virtually everywhere we turn today, technology is reshaping the ways we relate and communicate. We go online. We download. We chat and Twitter and hang out on Facebook until our eyes hurt and our brains burst. And more than ever before, the options regarding which movies, music, TV shows and video games we might consume are virtually unlimited.

But how do these media actually influence us? I recently talked with author and Mennonite pastor Shane Hipps, someone who’s thought deeply about that question. His new book, Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith, describes the profound ways our electronic culture molds the way we see the world … and each other.

More found at the interview here.

So, my Macbook is in service.  What happened?  The keyboard doesn’t work.  I had to use an external keyboard and mouse for two days.  I realized that it was basically no longer a laptop so it was the straw that broke the camel’s back and I took it to a place where they service Macs.  The other one that I had been hinging on going to was only open weekdays… and I could never find a time to go.  This one is open on Saturdays so I summoned up the courage to go.  I met a Christian dude behind the counter and it was a pleasant conversation, even as he asked for my password and I told him it was a Bible Scripture reference and he asked me what verse it is.  Thankfully, I know most of it!  This is one great benefit to using Bible Scripture as passwords!  You get to memorize Scripture and yet it could be anything!  Good luck cracking that password.

The iService guy said it would take a week.  This is the longest separation I’ve had from my MacBook Pro since purchasing it in January.  I felt torn.

One big thing is that being computerless (and already TV-less) I feel very alone.  Facebook, Google Talk are actually methods of community (even if they are not great replacements) and so I’m so attached to them it’s hard to pull away.

It’s hard to be without a computer also because so much of my work depends on it.  All my communication with co-workers around the country is based on email.  Even though most of my work is now online through email and Google Docs and online forums, I still need a way to access it all!!

Fortunately, one of my student friends was very gracious and lended me his laptop.  It is old school, I tell ya.  Even the PC that I built during high school was more stacked than this laptop.  294 Mhz processor?  My goodness, that was from way back when we used floppy disks yo.  Back when we spelled disks with a “k”.  Not a “c”.  But having this laptop is still a tremendous blessing, it enables me to actually do necessary work.

I was so tempted in my desperation at one point that I considered buying another MacBook or a Mac mini as a second computer.  I foresee a desktop Mac as a secondary option in the future, I just don’t know when it’ll be…. and whether I can afford it.  But being so tethered to the online world means I can’t really pause for service  here and there…

Crazy eh?  What kind of world do we live in……

My goodness.  Tonight, I just realized that email, Facebook, blog-reading, and my own website (and its comments) are my soma.  I have it all set up to check through my iGoogle page.  But my routine everyday when I sit down at the computer is this: check my website for any comments, check iGoogle and go through email, Facebook, and any blogs I haven’t read yet.  And then I check my Fantasy Hockey team to see how many points my players have scored.  And sometimes I click through all these things every few minutes when I’m home.

You see, my internet world has become really small.  I hardly visit websites that aren’t linked from my own website.  I subscribe to a limited number of blogs.  My Facebook has been scaled back, almost to the point that I’m seriously considering leaving it.

Somehow my brain has grown accustomed to the act of clicking my mouse and receiving affirmation from emails and notifications.  It’s the soma that I feed on when I am bored, stressed, or without anything better to do (seemingly).  It all feels so robotic.  Somehow it doesn’t feel right.  Do you ever get to this point?  Because in a few weeks, I think it’s going to drive me crazy.  I need to get out.