There's much to dislike in this Safran Foer emission about the distractions of technology. All of it really. It's the usual novels versus screens stuff. This struck me particularly:
"But then a funny thing happened: we began to prefer the diminished substitutes. It’s easier to make a phone call than to make the effort to see someone in person. Leaving a message on someone’s machine is easier than having a phone conversation – you can say what you need to say without a response; it’s easier to check in without becoming entangled. So we began calling when we knew no one would pick up. Shooting off an email is easier still, because one can further hide behind the absence of vocal inflection, and of course there’s no chance of accidentally catching someone. With texting, the expectation for articulateness is further reduced, and another shell is offered to hide in. Each step “forward” has made it easier – just a little – to avoid the emotional work of being present, to convey information rather than humanity."
I notice he chose to write that in a national newspaper and didn't seek me out to tell me directly. Just, I suppose, because it was easier to do that, to just type it and send it to a newspaper, rather than to do the emotional work of seeking out every single Guardian reader and telling them in person. He's not even called me up and told me. I've been in all day, I've checked all my messages. Nothing. It's disappointing.