Imprisoned Houses

We as individual people have become imprisoned in our own lives. The internet has been a big part of the undoing of the processes that kept us healthy and alive. As children we played outside, we got dirty, we got skinned knees, we drank from the hose and jumped our bikes off rickety made wood ramps. We played in the street and had sleep overs. We respected our parents, our elders and had manners. When was the last time you have seen a man open a car door for a woman or heard please and thank you. When was the last time you saw children playing hot box, hopscotch or kick the can. Times have drastically changed.

Parents now days are so overprotective of their children that it’s become the norm. The world is still the world so what changed? The access to the internet, access to the world at your fingertips without ever having to leave the confines of your home or bedroom is what changed. We can order food from the grocery store or have grub hub bring us fast food. We pay all our bills online and now even work from home to a greater extent. But I believe in thus doing so that we have become imprisoned in our own lives. We don’t socialize anymore, we don’t take food over to the neighbors anymore, we don’t meet down at the car hop (showing my age there) anymore. We don’t go roller skating anymore. Couples who do go out rarely communicate but instead have their heads buried in their phones. We have become isolated and selfishly absorbed in comments and likes. What’s the next funniest video or shocking gossip to catch up on. Live streaming is quickly becoming the norm. Socializing without socializing. A prison of our own making.

Technology isn’t bad in itself, but I think we have allowed it to control our lives to a great extent. There’s a song by Men at Work, Who Can It Be Now. “Who can it be knocking at my door? Go ‘way, don’t come ’round here no more. All I wish is to be alone. Stay away, don’t you invade my home.” Self-induced prison in our homes. Don’t get me wrong, I love being at home, but I get cabin fever rather quickly and want to be outside, exploring the world. But I come from a time when playing outside was our lives and being inside was boring. Then came Atari and Nintendo and life began to change. Then came computers and then came the internet and then came locking ourselves up in our own homes to be safe, secure and protected from the outside world. Sad. How many rainbows get missed. How many pots of gold aren’t found. How many days go by without even realizing it until we wake up old and then are truly imprisoned in our home. People I implore you to get out, get off the computer, get off the phone if but for an hour or two. Go throw the football around, walk the dog, go to the Saturday market. Life is meant to be explored, to have live experiences and not just through TikTok or Instagram. There are sunsets to see, redwoods to walk through and beaches to comb. There is belly laughter to share and flowers to smell. I’m heading out, maybe I’ll see ya out there.