When I was a boy there were bikes to ride but no cell phones to text on. There was a river for swimming but no world wide web for surfing. There were basketballs to bounce but few video games to play. There were paths to walk but no reality televison shows to watch. When we did sit in front of the tv we could choose between two channels and had to go outside and turn the antenna to get in the second one. When we wanted to make a call too we had to sit in the chair next to the phone, pick up the receiver gently to make sure noone else was taking on the party line, and then slowly dial each number on the rotary wheel.

These days my home is wireless and yet has more wires than I can count. I have a mobile phone, cell phone, and computer. I have two televisions and a hundred cable channels. I have CD and DVD players. My daughter has an i-pod and a cell phone with more functions than she could ever hope to use. I am connected with friends and family all over the globe and can communicate at the speed of light. I am a part of the vast electronic web that encircles our world.

I know too that there is no going back to the simpler age that I grew up in. Still, there are times each day when I shut down my computer and turn off my televisions and cell phone. I do so to spend some quiet time in prayer, to talk to my children and hear about their day, to chat with my friends and neighbors, to read a good book, to pet my dogs, and to take a walk outside and watch the birds flying across the sky. I do so to stay connected to things far more important than the internet. I do so to stay connected to God, to love, to life, to humanity, and to my own soul. Without these connections technology is nothing more than a meaningless distraction.

Use your technology wisely then. Stay connected not distracted. Live your life, share your love, nourish your soul, and make this world a better place both online and off.

Joseph J. Mazzella joemazzella@frontier.com