Muddling not alone...

I commend you to an Op-Ed column by Roger Cohen in Tuesday's NYTimes (2/23/16) titled Smartphone Era Politics, although it's more about the impact of today's technology than just smartphones.

I started the Muddling Marv Blog some years ago to express my frustration, as a former journalist, to come to terms with the the new technology.

I'm still baffled and still fume when landing in voice-mail jail when trying to reach a human being who might be able to resolve an issue or solve a problem. “This call may be monitored for etc. etc.,” is about as meaningless a phrase as ever coined. I'm positive no one monitors it because nothing changes. I hope our intelligence services receive such messages when they eavesdrop. Sweet justice!

But back to Roger Cohen. He writes: “I grew up with readers and by extension readership. The readers have vanished like migrating birds. They have been replaced by users and viewers and by audience. Verbal experience has given way to the visual experience. Where pages were turned, images are clicked. Words have been processed to form content, a commodity like any other. The letters have given way to the link.”

There is more to this excellent column but I resonate to one universal truth. He writes: “one thing young people don't do on their smart phones is actually speak to one another.”

Muddle on, Roger...