By Steven Denny

As a kid, I watched futuristic shows like The Jetsons, filled with the writer’s dreams of what conveniences the future would hold. Some of the speculations of the 60’s cartoon came true. The smartwatch on my wrist has 10,000% more memory than my first computer in the 80’s. George Jetson working just a few days a week was the promise of the industrial and then the computer revolution. Machines would do the work and we would have more leisure time to spend with our families. The technology has existed, but the promise was left unfulfilled. The 40-hour workweek didn’t dwindle to 20 hours. It increased to 60 or more in our ceaseless effort to increase productivity.

The technology was there but there hadn’t been a push to use it until the shutdown. People were forced to stay at home and businesses and governments embraced video conferencing technology which was not previously widely used outside of large corporations. Now Zoom and GoToMeeting are commonplace. Even kindergarteners know how to log in and participate. We previously bemoaned long conference calls that “could have been covered in an email.” Now we say the same about video meetings. I am thankful that the virus pushed many of the daily activities into a format that allows me to participate while at home, the office, or on vacation but as a communicator, I hate the interpersonal connections we lose by such impersonal communication.

Just as sarcasm is often lost in the written word, nonverbal communication cues are lost in video calls with low resolution and slow connections. Don’t even get me started on masks. I shudder to think what irreparable damage is being done to our children from not being smiled at. I take my mask down every time I see a young child so they can see me smile at them.

As for interpersonal relationships, I’m not much of a toucher. I don’t hug much, especially those that I am not directly related to. I would go so far as to wake my infant son up at the end of church so I could console him instead of holding hands — please don’t judge me. I did, however, come to understand the value of human contact when I was in Afghanistan. There, I rarely touched anyone. Handshakes were rare and hugs never happened. I thought I was in paradise. I was wrong. After just a few weeks, I longed for a hug from my family. I missed a good handshake from a friend or colleague after a well fought hearing or trial. My feelings weren’t out of place. I discovered there are many studies about how human contact is therapeutic and essential to a person’s health.

Enough pontification on our new Jetson’s life. I guess since this is supposed to be on the theme of being thankful, I am thankful I recognize the perils of the “new normal.” I am thankful for a friend who allowed me to share my thoughts here on the “new normal.” I am also thankful that I know that many of us aren’t going to stand for this much more and we will all be back to the old normal soon — with maybe a Zoom or two thrown in for good measure.

Steven Denny is an Amarillo attorney.