• by Amanda , November 2, 2007

Media has become so pervasive these days that sometimes it surprises me. Last Saturday my brother broke his collarbone (a consequence of playing football in the street). I was out of town for the weekend, so he called and texted to keep me updated. This was awesome because I was able to stay connected despite being 300 miles away.

The part I found even more interesting, was what happened after the prognosis and his return home. X-ray pictures were immediately posted to Facebook and text messages were fired from friend to friend. By Monday morning everyone, including his high school teachers, knew about his injury. Some of my old friends even approached me and wished him a speedy recovery.

My brother still keeps me updated on his doctors visits and recovery via text message (the most recent estimate for his recovery: 2-3 months). The kicker here is that my family lives in the town in which I go to college. My brother attends school three blocks from my apartment, but I have a sneaky feeling that if Facebook, cell phones and e-mail didn't exist, I would never feel as involved with his life as I do now. So I guess I'm starting to like this whole media thing after all.