Isolation in a Digital World

I think it's a pretty accepted idea that digital culture can isolate people. However, the most common type of isolation that I've heard about is brought on by people who surround themselves with so much digital culture that they isolate themselves from those around them. However, I personally have experienced a different kind of isolation-- that of not having the newest technology or social media account when everyone else around you seems to.

Case in point: I still use an old flip phone. Today, one of my mission buddies was texting a group of people, trying to organize an activity. However, my phone is so old that all of the group messages that she would send out showed up as empty text messages. Thus, I had no way of knowing what she was saying. It reminds me of my high school days, when all of my friends had cell phones and I did not (I got a cell phone when I moved to Provo for college.) I would go to slumber parties and be bored out of my wits because everyone around me would be texting or taking pictures on their phones, while I had to just sit there and wait for them to finish so we could keep talking. Although I've never experienced this, another good example would be someone who doesn't have Facebook never getting invited to events because they don't get the group invitation and people forget to let them know.

Now, please do not think I'm sharing these experiences to whine about how I don't have a nice phone. Instead, I hope to draw attention to the fact that we can isolate each other unknowingly by assuming that everyone else has the same access to digital culture that we do. I think it's really easy to get so caught up in the cool new gadgets and toys that we forget the importance of watching out for the people around us. Luckily, the fix is just as easy: remember to look out for those around us.