Resolve to Stay Tangible

This evening, and for the second time in two days, I entered a local Blockbuster store only to find that it was closing; the employees have no definitive futures and every tangible item is available at fire-sale prices. Earlier this week, I drove to the Woodland Hills Barnes and Noble (my previous B&N haunt in Encino has already become a CVS) only to learn that they, too, are in the process of closing. While some may appreciate the convenience of mail-order movies, streaming TV shows, and books that follow you from device to device, I’m not much of a virtual guy.

The experience of grabbing a frozen yogurt and wandering the movie shelves or bookstore isles has always been something I’ve enjoyed. Also, the sound and feel of a page turning, rather than the sound effect provided by virtual books, should not be lost; yet, it is sure to be gone, soon. I worry my three-year old niece may never read a paper book unless the few, brave souls who keep their small stores open amidst the conglomerates hold out for her and her peers.

This is not meant to depress you but to awaken everyone to the fact that the tangible world is slowly deteriorating. Sites like Facebook, technologies like text messaging and instant messaging–while useful tools for disseminating information–have all but closed individuals off from regular human contact. “I talked to my friend” now has to be further delineated to determine whether or not voice was actually used in the conversation, rather than just arched thumbs and a touch screen. At the risk of calling upon my years in psychology, I worry we are creating a generation of antisocial, agoraphobic souls afraid and unable to relate on an interpersonal level. I truly, with all my heart, pray that my worry is unfounded.

I would like to make my New Year’s resolution public: I resolve to maintain contact with the tangible. I resolve to continue using my phone as an actual phone, rather than just a medium for transmitting text-based messages. I resolve to continue shaking hands with colleagues, as well as hug my friends and loved ones as often as I currently do. I resolve to touch the wood floor of my studio as often as possible, to move my body away from the desk more than just at lunchtime and at the end of the workday. Finally, I resolve to make sure that my future children and grandchildren understand that the World Wide Web is not the world within which we should live our daily lives.

Brad Burnam

Owner, Burn Yoga in Agoura Hills