I envy the creative ways some people use technology. It's a talent I
don't have. I grew up fearing technology or anything resembling it.
"Don't touch it!" I can still hear my mother's anxious voice. "It will
break." The "it" behind my mother's concern could be our ancient radio,
the alarm clock, the tape recorder I got for my thirteenth birthday, or
even the TV remote control. My mother was convinced that changing the
channels often is not good for the TV. And this was in the
pre-satellite era when we had three channels to choose from.
No
wonder then that I have no curiosity when it comes to high tech
gadgets. While I use technology because it is unavoidable. I have a
distant and awkward relation to it, never a creative one. Not that
I'm afraid of it. It's more that I'm afraid for it--for the damage my
touch will cause.
This is why I'm in awe of people who are so
comfortable with technology they make it their own. Like the Saudi man
who recently divorced his wife by sending her a text message. I could have never thought of that.
"Honey, I divorce thee." Send.
When
you think about it, it's the perfect method: private, fast, and to the
point. No scenes, no tears, no postage stamps. It can be done from
anywhere: the car, the coffee shop, the bathroom. It can be sent at any
time of day or night. Most importantly it's reliable: you know the wife
will get it, no matter where she is or what she is doing, which is only
fair. It's definitely more reliable than an email that can end up in
her spam folder and a phone call where there is the risk of her hanging
up while you are in mid sentence or, worse, misunderstanding because of
a bad connection. And since in all likelihood you are no longer on a family
calling plan, a text message is probably cheaper.
I bet you this
man's mother never said to him: "Don't touch it. It will break." He is
also lucky because he lives in a country that not only values
technological advances, but encourages its citizens to use them
creatively.
Which is why it went through--the message and the divorce.
