August 2018

The idea for this month’s feature piece was sparked by

an observation I made while working on Gina Lollobrigida’s feature piece for last month’s special edition of the magazine. While pounding away on the keys of my computer, answering my cell phone, texting, emailing, tweeting, posting, liking and Googling, I also flipped through pages and pages of pictures of Gina in books and magazines made of actual paper, and I was struck by something… how many things have changed since Gina’s heyday during La Dolce Vita days. And I’m not just talking about things in the Eternal City, but globally.

The post-war era was a time long before major advancements in technology. The technology we know today affects our lives every single day and also makes us fully aware that we can no longer live without all of this technology; technology that has given way to groundbreaking medical advancements, or has allowed cinema to go where it has never gone before, or the field of science, space, travel, military, national security, the environment, or cyberspace. I’m not referring that technology. I’m referring to something much closer to all of us. Something we hold onto and grip tightly in our hands every day and that is our cell phones, tablets, and computers.

We now have Apps that can do virtually everything and anything. And we don’t even have to leave the house to do them. Pretty soon we will be able to eat without touching food. Not true, but hey, everything may be possible soon. We have social media sites that allow us to network on a global level and communicate with people we will never see or meet in person. With one click we can be friends, or not, like or not like, follow or un-follow.

And we can have a lot of “friends” and “followers.” But are all these people really our friends?

Social media and our access to technology have changed, evolved, and shaped how we view romance, dating, friendship and simply getting to know each other. There are countless Apps for dating or “hooking” up. These Apps and dating sites allow you the freedom to create a whole new persona if you choose to do so. You can alter the facts about age, weight, size, and even famously Photoshop® away years of unwanted wrinkles, all from a handheld device, for the chance to impress a potential partner you may never physically meet. With romance, we can now swipe right or left. And it’s based solely on whether we like someone’s picture or not.

The simplicity and innocence of meeting someone in person, out in a public setting, a chance encounter, first impression and first connection is what’s missing when we hide behind a device instead of going out into the real world and actually trying to meet people the “old fashioned” way.

Romance is about the human connection and human interaction. When this occurs romance becomes about a glance, a smile, someone’s energy, or vibe they give off. Then there’s that feeling you get in your gut when you first meet someone you connect with. That sensation of excitement coupled with nerves. That electricity, that spark that can only happen and be experienced in person face to face because we are made of flesh and blood and we feel with our senses. Watch animals. Other mammals. They’re using all their senses to approach a potential partner and to communicate their feelings. They aren’t sitting behind a screen swiping, staring, or hiding behind it.

The idea for this month’s feature piece was sparked by an observation I made while working on Gina Lollobrigida’s feature piece for last month’s special edition of the magazine. While pounding away on the keys of my computer, answering my cell phone, texting, emailing, tweeting, posting, liking and Googling, I also flipped through pages and pages of pictures of Gina in books and magazines made of actual paper, and I was struck by something… how many things have changed since Gina’s heyday during La Dolce Vita days. And I’m not just talking about things in the Eternal City, but globally.

The post-war era was a time long before major advancements in technology. The technology we know today affects our lives every single day and also makes us fully aware that we can no longer live without all of this technology; technology that has given way to groundbreaking medical advancements, or has allowed cinema to go where it has never gone before, or the field of science, space, travel, military, national security, the environment, or cyberspace. I’m not referring that technology. I’m referring to something much closer to all of us. Something we hold onto and grip tightly in our hands every day and that is our cell phones, tablets, and computers.

We now have Apps that can do virtually everything and anything. And we don’t even have to leave the house to do them. Pretty soon we will be able to eat without touching food. Not true, but hey, everything may be possible soon. We have social media sites that allow us to network on a global level and communicate with people we will never see or meet in person. With one click we can be friends, or not, like or not like, follow or un-follow.

And we can have a lot of “friends” and “followers.” But are all these people really our friends?

Social media and our access to technology have changed, evolved, and shaped how we view romance, dating, friendship and simply getting to know each other. There are countless Apps for dating or “hooking” up. These Apps and dating sites allow you the freedom to create a whole new persona if you choose to do so. You can alter the facts about age, weight, size, and even famously Photoshop® away years of unwanted wrinkles, all from a handheld device, for the chance to impress a potential partner you may never physically meet. With romance, we can now swipe right or left. And it’s based solely on whether we like someone’s picture or not.

The simplicity and innocence of meeting someone in person, out in a public setting, a chance encounter, first impression and first connection is what’s missing when we hide behind a device instead of going out into the real world and actually trying to meet people the “old fashioned” way.

Romance is about the human connection and human interaction. When this occurs romance becomes about a glance, a smile, someone’s energy, or vibe they give off. Then there’s that feeling you get in your gut when you first meet someone you connect with. That sensation of excitement coupled with nerves. That electricity, that spark that can only happen and be experienced in person face to face because we are made of flesh and blood and we feel with our senses. Watch animals. Other mammals. They’re using all their senses to approach a potential partner and to communicate their feelings. They aren’t sitting behind a screen swiping, staring, or hiding behind it.

When a baby cries we give it a soother to pacify it. I like to think of my device, as a soother. We need these external devices to pacify us, to pacify our children, to pass the time, to transport us and make us be somewhere other than where we are right now. The present.

My Parents and Grandparents grew up in an era pre devices. They didn’t even have a landline. No one in their small village did. If someone wanted to make a phone call they had to go to the one coffee shop in town. To make a phone call was a really big deal. Needless to say, my parents never used a telephone. If they needed to contact someone, they’d go knock on that person’s door. The first time they used a telephone was when they immigrated to Canada in the early 60’s. Which was also when they got their first telephone and landline. In time, when the kids were born, we got a cordless phone and were able to walk around the house while talking. Wow, what a luxury that was! Calling long distance was very expensive and so calling relatives in faraway lands only happened on special holidays, otherwise, you had to send a letter that took weeks or months to arrive. Letters were the norm in communicating with friends and relatives. Then came calling cards and suddenly you were able to make long distance calls from any phone, even from a phone booth where you once had to use bags of coins, which you’d run out of right in the middle of a conversation. Then calling plans were introduced which helped to keep phone bill costs down. Soon cell phones were introduced but only some people could afford them. Users were suddenly giving up their landline in exchange for a cell phone. The demand for cell phones grew when smartphones were introduced – phones that could do everything! Calling became cheaper and soon Apps that

allowed you to call for free were introduced. Then the World Wide Web was introduced and suddenly we had access to everything, anytime, anywhere. Life as we once knew would never be the same. And suddenly, just like that, you found yourself not being able to live without your phone. It’s mind-blowing how far we have come. I love the progress because I love my phone! But I also see the downside.

I feel we are all being indoctrinated into this new way of living where we’re becoming addicted to holding a device, and to the motion of constantly reaching for it or looking down at it. In doing so we’re missing out on so much more that’s going on around us. We’re missing out on human connection, human touch, the romance of life, and of being present. And we’re missing out on all the beauty that abounds and surrounds us every single day like people, animals, nature, trees, plants, grass, oceans, blue skies, sunsets, and rainbows.

Gina’s old black and white photographs were a starting point for this piece. An inspiration of a life lived beautifully, fully, and freely with no device in her hands. But that was then and this is now. Time does not stand still for anyone. Life moves on. We progress and progress takes over. And we must embrace it. I look forward to the next gadget, the next means of communicating with family members and loved ones, the next great thing! I want to keep a perspective on how rapidly things are changing but not forget the past and to rejoice in how far we’ve come.

So remember to put down that phone or device and to look up, look way up, look beyond. Look people in the eye when you talk to them. Be present in life with your partner, lover, family, friends, nature, and all the beauty that surrounds you. Every day find time to really connect.

Hold someone’s hand, hug a tree, take in a deep breath of fresh air, be thankful, and just be.

La Dolce Vita means, the sweet life. Let’s try to keep life sweet.

Special Thank you to;

Photography/Cuffs/Stylist Kateyounger.com

Writer/Model:Dina Morrone,

Principal Ballet Dancer / Model: Raydel Caceres

Models: Seth Nayes. Taryn, Samantha Novak, Mandi Mae Declark & Angelica White & Little Alice

Vintage Glasses – Insta: Vintageeyewearguy

Read Our Magazine…