Last night out

A few weeks ago, some argument over texting in a Florida movie theater got someone killed.

Last week, Kim Dang who had wanted someday to be a talk-show host, got kicked to death outside a revived Santa Ana club (as of this edit, prosecutors are still gathering evidence about the case e.g was Kim walking in front of someone’s picture-taking (photobomb), or just stood in line, but the photo taker backed up and bumped into here while she stood in line.

Both incidents involved the use of a smart phone, on a night out, when people were seeking pleasure, not problem.  Mountain was made out of mole hill.

It’s that easy to turn your night-out into your last.

These two deaths wouldn’t have occurred 30 years ago. Incidentally, that was when the Mac first came out, giving us the first taste of “personal” computer.

Communication devices arrived to make our lives easy? Not for those two dead people.

I am not a Luddite.

But I also love to connect the dots e.g. how technology has ushered in not utopia but unintended consequences.

Yesterday, I saw a headline about a Chinese internet addict camp.

Just wait a decade to see technological consequences all accounted for: from being anti-social behavior to being on edge (for not being connected).

Already expressed by New Yorkers that they would rather lose their wallets over the phone (forced choices). Others keep taking pictures of themselves and post them online, waiting for Likes.

The contrarians already advocate screen-sabbatical (one day a week away from the screens).

In a month or so, Samsung plans to inaugurate its largest phone factory in North Vietnam. Not bad for world’s best brand to put factory in world’s most famous post war locale.

It would be the equivalent of putting “cloud computing” in Northern Iraq where missiles used to “rain down” (CNN first live coverage with Peter Arnett from behind the front).

Or Justin Bieber’s breaking arrest news interrupted a congress-woman interview on MSNBC (networks still try to “scoop” one another for rating).

It’s a sign and symptom of our age: en-amouring with celebrities and vanity, especially one who can boost rating (OJ Simpson trial, Princess Diana and the paparazzi).

So permeating and popular that what once considered exclusive ( photos of celeb on vacation etc…), now available to anyone with a smart phone. So go on with texting, and multi-tasking, chatting and cheating on social network.

At least two people, given a chance would wish they hadn’t gone out , carrying the phones with them. Phones and associated technology are neutral. What society does with it is quite another matter.

RIP Kim Dang, and the other x-navy Floridian man. Both did not get to enjoy those entertainment venues in 2014, but could have, had it been 1984.