ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?

Last Saturday my husband and I went to Red Lobster for our Lunch Date. As we followed the hostess to our table, we heard the phone ring and a young lady answered, "Hi! I am here with my mother. We are having lunch." From where we were seated, I had a direct view of the young lady (let's call her Rudy) and her mother. I also witnessed a sad picture of how technology when mis-used has destroyed the personal interactions and family communication. From the moment she answered that "important"phone call, Rudy spent the time talking to someone who must be more "important" than her mother because the next fifteen minutes the mother quietly ate her lunch, trying not to disturb her daughter cell phone conversation. Rudy was smiling while continuing her phone conversation and enjoying her lunch as if the mother was not even there. I was so tempted to walk over and ask if the mother would like to join us at our table since her daughter was so busy talking on the phone. When both finished their lunch, Rudy took care of the bill, she was still on the phone, talking and walking out of the restaurant, with her mother right next to her. In her mind, Rudy thought driving her mother to the restaurant and paying for her meal was good enough. Perhaps what I witnessed was a reminder that I should not allow technology to replace personal connection, not letting email replacing phone conversations, that I should shut off the iPod, the iPhone, the computer, the television, all the video games or any other electronic device and really be in the moment with my family, whether the person is next to me or 1,000 miles away.
These sculptures by J. Seward Johnson were on displayed throughout the City of Chesterfield from August to October 2009 as part of public arts development leading up to the unveiling of "The Awakening". I thought the sculptures would be fitting for this post about human interactions and family communication in the modern time.