MoSoSo-the next wave of virtual community

While I found the Christian Science Monitor article "Students' new best friend: 'MoSoSo' by Gloria Goodale interesting, I also found it disturbing.

It is very true that when one walks onto a college campus they are instantly bombarded with cell phone activity everywhere. Everytime I'm on campus and inbetween my short walks between each class I always receive a glimpse (or is that a shot) into several students private lives. Many of these students I don't know, but some I do.

My main question that I have to ask is:
Do you really want me to know your bank account number, who your dating, who your not dating, where your living, where your going after class? Granted, I'm not likely to be a threat, but someone else overhearing those same comments could be.

Yes, you could call me a naysayer and a technophobic, but to me some of these negatives are a good reason for being cautious of new technologies. From reading the article it is clear that companies are trying to address some of these concerns, yet I still find myself wondering if the age of "Big Brother" is finally here for good.

I'm also concerned that students spending all there time on their cell phones are missing out on face-to-face interactions. Near the end of the article a college student, Carlos Rodriguez, is quoted as prefering talking to someone face to face rather than on a cell phone. To him it is a richer experience. I agree. When your speaking with someone face to face your better able to see their reactions. In a text message environment you have to guess the reaction. I realize that a photo can be taken and then sent from your cell phone to someone else's, but that still doesn't give the same type of personal interaction.

I also believe there is a danger of becoming too self-absorbed in technology resulting in a loss of personal interaction. Technology is a wonderful tool, but I believe that we need to remember that that is just what it is, a tool, rather than a replacement for personal interaction between two people. I've noticed that some students, when they have no cell phone messages or calls to keep them occuppied, tend to look at their phone anyway. Its almost as though they are hoping it will save them from having to interact with someone in the real world. To me that's sad that someone would want to talk into a cell phone rather than say "hello" to someone they are passing in the hallway. This, speakes volumes about what is lost when we allow technology to rule us rather than to rule it.

Don't get me wrong here, I also believe that there are many positives to cell phones and I admit to owning one myself for emergencies, a small amount of text messaging, and the occasional long distance telephone call. Yet, I find it hard to buy into using it for everything.