Opinion: Our devices have kept us connected in isolation

I’ve been thinking about the phrase, “left to their own devices.”

It’s been around in one form or another for a few hundred years, loosely defined as being able to handle a situation with no outside assistance.

My various books on word and phrase origins say “devices” was originally “devises,” which meant “wishes” back in the old days.

Then along came all those goodies we collectively label as “electronic devices:” cell phones, laptops, tablets, etc.

It gives new meaning to the idea of being left to one’s own devices.

Many of us, in fact, have been left to our own devices these past few months at a degree we never could have imagined.

What would we have done without them?

When social distancing threatened to strand us, our devices became lifelines.

We have eaten virtual meals with loved ones who are far away, a screen propped up against a casserole dish on the kitchen table, pretending for an hour that the miles between us did not exist.

We’ve attended weddings and funerals.

We’ve met new babies and played games with friends.

We’ve worshipped at church services near and far.

We’ve taken classes and attended meetings (perhaps a few too many of those).

We’ve visited loved ones in residential facilities, our voices connected even as our hands are separated by glass.

When my younger brother had a birthday last month, seven of us met online from five homes in four states, with cakes, cookies, and muffins adorned with the closest thing everyone could round up for a birthday candle.

After a terrible rendition of the birthday song — how those choirs manage to put together those amazing online collaborations is beyond me — we simultaneously blew out our far-flung, flickering flames.

As good as being together in person? Of course not.

The next best thing? You bet your birthday candle.

I whine a lot about technology. It regularly baffles me, irritates me, frustrates me, stumps me.

And even with my rose-colored glasses held firmly to my face with trembling hands, I can’t deny all of the challenges facing us humans right now.

But left to our own devices — all of them — maybe, just maybe, our species will find new ways to communicate and truly connect.

One can only “devise.”

Betty Williamson has great faith in humanity, with or without devices. Reach her at:

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