So I went to a concert (Stereophonics if anyone is interested).  It had been a while since I last went to a concert (Cambridge folk festival doesn’t really count) and I observed a new, to me at least, phenomenon.  Very few people were capable of appreciating the moment, of concentrating on the music, instead they were busy taking photos, video clips, browsing the internet, sending messages to friends.

Have we lost the ability to appreciate the moment?

Maybe this is why people feel disatisfied with their life, they are no longer capable of simply enjoying themselves.  Instead everything has to be an interactive social experience leaving no time to actually enjoy the moment and form some real memories.

Are our memories just digital now?  We don’t have the inclination to store them for ourselves, we’d rather store them on the internet or in throw-away exchanges with our friends.

When I suggested this at work I was accused, in a teasing way, of being a ‘Grumpy Old Woman’.  I wasn’t intending to complain, just make some observations.  But it did start to get to me - is this where society is headed?

I’ve found some sites that seem specifically setup for this sort of ‘interactive social experience’:
Crowdfire - a crowdsourced act of digital media creation
tvClickr - a social TV experience

Finally I decided to stop thinking about writing and actually write something.