Surf the Friendly Skies?

July 11, 2008

By Kirk Noonan

This summer those who fly select airlines will be able to surf the Net. That’s a good thing for those of us who spend hours in cramped airplane seats waiting anxiously to get to our destinations and stretch our legs.

Or is it?

Providing passengers with Internet capabilities is akin to giving us a big-screen television with unlimited channels and a remote. If flight attendants thought we weren’t paying attention to the preflight safety instructional while absent-mindedly flipping through Sharper Image catalogs, imagine what will happen when we can surf the Net.

Aye-yi-yi.

From the comfort of a miserable seat in coach at 30,000 feet, we will now be able to e-mail, shop, read the latest news, blog and probably even stream television shows as we jet across the sky to domestic and international destinations.

It seems just a few years ago I saw a throng of people gathering around another passenger who had a portable DVD player on his tray table. Everyone was astonished that such technology existed.

“And it cost less than 700 bucks,” the man said proudly. “But it’s totally worth it.”

Nowadays you can get on a plane and never utter a word to a fellow passenger if you’re not in a talking mood. Pop in your ear buds; bury your nose into your computer, magazine or book; pretend you’re asleep; or just do the burning stare technique into the headrest in front of you and most people won’t bother you.

Will Internet capabilities just be another excuse for travelers to ignore one another? Or will they bring people together as they travel and search the Web for the perfect toaster or latest score?

Who knows?

But if I’m the student of human nature I think I am, I would lean toward passengers becoming even more reclusive. Which is fine with me, because I am not much of talker when I fly.

But what about those people who use flight time as an opportunity to share their faith? Will the Internet prove to be just one more obstacle to clear before they share the gospel? Or will they be able to parlay the new technology into genuine conversations about faith? I guess it depends on the person and his or her determination. But that’s just a guess.

What do you think?

— Kirk Noonan is managing editor of Today’s Pentecostal Evangel and blogs at Simple Plan (knoonan.agblogger.org).