There’s probably no way I can write this post without coming across as a little bit of a jerk… so I apologize and the front end. This isn’t directed to any particular person… but just multiple encounters I seem to have on a weekly basis.
It seems that almost everyone has a smart phone today. That’s probably thanks to the iPhone where a very friendly mobile internet is available to all. With our phones, we have access to almost anything and everything. It’s an amazing time in which we live.
My pet peeve comes from when people with these amazing tools to access almost infinite knowledge ask me questions that no longer seem necessary any more. Obviously, if its something I should know that you don’t know, then ask me. But if it’s one of those things that very few people would know… then for goodness sake, look it up. Google it. Map it.
I know some people with a smart phone that rarely if ever have opened up google maps on their phone. Sometimes they ask me for directions and my response is almost always the same. Don’t you have google maps on that phone of yours? I get asked how to spell stuff all the time. I’m a horrible speller. I think people don’t realize how easy it is to look up a word, even on google. You could probably get the correct spelling faster than asking me, even if I was a good speller. Nine times out of ten, when someone asks me a question like this, I end up looking it up on google. Why? Because I have a smart phone with access to the internet.
Oh, so do you. You’re paying $30-40 a month to have google in your pocket… look it up.
Actually, my wife has gotten very good at this. We talk about all kinds of random topics every day. There was a time when the answer to 6 out of 10 questions she would ask me was “Google it.”
Now we’ll be talking about something random, like who won the oscar in 2003 for best actor and we’ll both reach for our phones at the same time and I’ll say, “Am I looking it up or are you?”
Sorry for being a jerk. If we’re going to talk, let’s talk. But if you just need answers to simple little questions, go talk to Google. 🙂
What’s a google? Oh, nevermind. I found the answer on Bing. 🙂
I saw a tweet the other day that read, “I refuse to learn anything new until someone proves to me that Google will one day cease to exist.”
http://justgoogleityouidiot.com/
Amen! That’s all.
You must have wrote this blog post hoping to get comments! I live in a small town in northern WI and to a large degree our community is behind the technology boom recently. I have some of the same thoughts as you, but in our small town I am reminded that being personal and HUMAN is a breath of fresh air versus the computerized world we are immersed in. As God’s people I wonder if that human connection, while sometimes annoying, is worth it.
Bing. Give me a break.
I always hope for comments as I love to interact with people, but I don’t write posts for that end alone. I just enjoy a good conversation. This post was just a soapbox of mine… and it seems most people agree with me. Doesn’t make it right though. 🙂
I know… I just thought that with a post about something annoying you’d probably get some comments… that’s what I meant.
The “pet peeve” title made me remember our summer teen youth camp and one of our staff meetings. The camp director had us all chime in what one of our major pet peeves are. It was funny and highly entertaining… that is until we reached my friend Dave.
Dave’s walk with the Lord has been exploding over the last two years. He’s almost 50, had major success in his line of work and laid it all aside a while back because of the bad influence it was having on his life (and heart). Dave has poured his energy into discipline middle school boys along side of me. It’s been amazing.
Back to the “pet peeve” conversation: when it got to Dave, he just sighed and said something like “To be honest I don’t have any pet peeves anymore… things used to really bother me, but now they seem insignificant.” Dave’s comment taught us all a lesson that day whether or not we were listening.
I’m not trying to take the moral high ground here, I’m really not. I’ve got things that annoy me greatly and I’m still not yet sanctified in those areas. But Dave’s comment (better yet, Jesus shaping his life daily) has made me rethink what little annoyances I might have with other people in this life.
Not trying to sound preachy, but your blog post reminde me of what I learned from Dave this past summer.
Kenny, no need to point me out. Still trying to figure this Google maps thing out.
Corey, I didn’t name any names… so you called yourself out. Ha!
Jeremy, that’s a great point. Pet Peeves probably do point out where we have room to grow in patience and grace. Maybe one day I’ll get there. 🙂