Saturday 11 February 2012

So Close, and Yet So Far

 Coffee shops have incredibly small tables, generally speaking. So small that if you lean across, the small circular space you and your partners’ noses can touch. Touch, see, and smell: three things that we hardly do anymore. What do I mean by this? You might be wondering. Well, in the digital age; the age of enhanced communication via technology; we have become so close, and yet so far. Far enough that it takes multiple steps to finally reach face-to-face interaction. As if we have created a social etiquette for communication boundaries wherein some people are worthy of our “real time” and others are only deserving of a status update, constructing an endless stream of miscommunication and distant discussions.  We can reach each other and send messages through social media outlets, BBM, texting and even see each other through mediums like Skype and Face Time (the option of video chatting offered by the iphone) and yet we are so far from one another. The need to connect has created a series of digital communication streams that ultimately lead to an inherent disconnect.

Solution: The Café or Coffee Shop.

            Whether you are dating, want to meet new people or just want a space to chat; the coffee shop, depending on its design, gives us a chance to escape the lonely world of digital communication and physically connect within the same space and time. It offers us a real room where we can connect and communicate through spoken  word and body language. But more importantly, we can reach out our hands and touch, we can lean across the small circular table and kiss noses.



1 comment:

  1. Very insightful. It's true, you don't need to occupy the same physical space as someone to have a relationship anymore. Simply turning on your computer will do it for some people. We should have a face-to-face coffee date soon, less the kissing noses part... unless you want to ;)

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