I have even seen people in the midst of an interview sitting behind their laptop. Of course, the interviewer is also sitting behind a laptop, so I guess it is okay, etiquette-wise. But it seems a little weird to me. Granted, I am a closet luddite (okay, maybe an open luddite), but it just strikes me as strange that two people could be in the midst of an interview with both of them ensconced behind screens. Is that normal? Am I missing something here? What is so great about technology that we feel the need to take it everywhere with us and use it as a shield against the world?
I am not suggesting that there haven’t been times that I have done this very thing myself, but I tend to just be out in the world when I am out. I don’t carry my device as a matter of course as so many seem to do these days. I have ranted before about phones and the disruption to normal HUMAN connection they cause, but I am starting to see it more with laptops as well.
Linus (from Peanuts) kept his security blanket with him because he was insecure (and it made a nifty weapon on occasion). As a group, as a society, are we insecure? Is that why we need devices to hide us? It is little wonder that we are all so divided right now. We seem to look for ways to divide ourselves from others even when we are out around others.