Water cooler talk - NOT

So - I could begin by saying something I think could be true... such as: The SONY walkman and the 100's of TV stations now available... and email, texting, facebook, myspace, instagram, etc... etc... etc... explain why we the people are soo divided.  The fact is... being divided by these many, many distractions and fragmenting media opportunities seem to provide choice and freedom and diversity... AND THEY DO... and they ALSO fragment us so while once upon a time... 20 or 30 years ago... or maybe a bit more... people would go to work and then go home and at home they would watch one of three national news networks and several tv shows on any one night from maybe five or six stations... with the BIG THREE being most watched for their current/new shows... and then back a work -- people would share their recent viewings and feeling about the shows/news they saw. Today, however, there are so many possibilities our co-workers are often not on the same page, so to speak... and thus sharing conversations are less likely to take place face-to-face with people we actually see. SO -- onto Facebooks, etc... where we can find community... BUT in a certain way a mere (yes MERE) virtual community. A community of compassion and intellect but not a community of hugs and kisses and ???? Well... maybe I am on the wrong track..... Maybe all that compassion (the words and the offered feelings) is a good as one gets... even from a friend at work or next door or a live-in family member...

HOWEVER --- ideas from the media DO FRAGMENT US... and we all have lots of very different experiences each day if/when we watch tv or stream tv or listen to spotify or pandora or something on SiriusRadio, or NPR or PBS or ... etc. etc...

SO - in my experience we all need to know how to talk to and listen to others who do not share our experiences but with whom we want to connect. Good listening skills AND good STORY TELLING skills needed!

I began this with a thought about how I plan to "cut cable" and not necessarily see current tv shows - such as the new Doctor Who... and instead I will watch older seasons and other shows from the past... and so my "water-cooler" sharing will be complicated and disrupted by the old mixed in with the new with the new already overloaded and fragmentary...

AND so... welcome to the MANY NEW WORLDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY.