Control

This Thursday, I attended a concert at the House of Blues in Cleveland featuring the band Jars of Clay. The music was amazing, the ambiance was groovy, and I saw technological determinism right before my eyes.

Yes, that is what I said - technological determinism.

There was a girl close to the stage who was watching the band, and at the same time she was either taping the band on her digital camera or she was taking pictures. It struck me that the way she conducted herself in regard to this technology shaped her experience. She couldn't flail both her arms about or clap to the beat, because she was preoccupied with capturing the experience digitally.

This would never have happened 60 years ago at an Elvis concert. No digital camera got in the way of the girls becoming completely engrossed in the experience of watching Elvis. I don't know, maybe this whole idea of being able to "capture" the experience makes the encounter with our most cherished stars a little more manageable.

We all want control, right?