Essay about Adam Gopkin “Bumping into Mr. Ravioli”

Adam Gopkin, “Bumping into Mr. Ravioli”
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Adam Gopkin, “Bumping into Mr. Ravioli”
Before the internet era, the world seemed desolate. People used traditional methods to interact and build social relationships. They used face to face interactions which ensured intimacy and togetherness. In the 21st century, a new era of technology development came. It was through this that the attaining of unparallel diversity and richness by human beings hit the world. Technology is taking people’s relationship’s authenticity and the intimacy’s real communication.
In the Bumping into Mr. Ravioli, Adam Gopkin illustrates vividly the impact technology has on the modern human lives. He uses a notation of ‘incomplete communication' when he referred to an instance when his wife was trying to communicate through a number of technological devices such as telephone, fax machine, and email. The wife and a friend had wanted to buy a bed online from Ireland such that it would be delivered by Federal Express to America. The information was sent to her email. She hadn't known till the friend sent her a telephone message telling her to check her email. More information about the bed was required.
Adam Gopkin describes the above incidence as ‘a grand slam of incomplete communication.' The communication about the bed and the purchasing were not done comprehensively, and it can be described as suspended communication. He then discusses the ideas of what he terms ‘overwhelming incompleteness' using the New Yorkers' life of ‘busyness.' The information he tries to bring out by linking the two is that people have made themselves very busy with a lot of activities and have got no time for intimate interactions. They have opted to use technology which does not offer complete communication. The two concepts are brought out in the following ways.
Technology tries to meet vulnerabilities of the people by giving them an illusionary companionship when in the real sense; they are lonely. Gopkin illustrates that in the modern society people are obsessed with the communication technology such that they are suffering from busyness. The life of busyness is a life full of stress, and people are complaining about it. Relationships consolidation that uses the traditional ways such as chatting face to face has received a blow. The consolidation is not complete as people try to catch up on the phone or via emails. They have an illusion that they are doing it while in the real sense, they are not. They try, but it is not complete.
Advanced communication technology has influenced the American contemporary values dramatically. Gopkin illustrates this through friendship and job completion. The outcome of performing a job and the process of making friendship is highly valued in real life. Making a new friendship or completing a task is a consequence that can be described as superficial. The convenience brought by technology makes the Americans not to care about the process anymore.
The value that technology has nurtured in the American society is goal-oriented. The value perpetually driven by the advancing t...