I feel as if I’m going against my nature with this post because I’m going to argue against something I love so much. Something I love as much as the rest of the world does, and possible even more than your average bear. But when it comes to free WiFi, I’ve decided that sometimes access to it is a bad thing.
Mind you, this post is very personal. But I’m hoping that somewhere, somone feels the same as me. That there are places where free WiFi should just be banned for no good reason other than it would just ruin the natural way things are done in certain public places.
My victim happens to be the horse race track in Saratoga Springs, NY that I spent 5 summers working at before, during, and after college. A casino that markets itself as the oldest sporting venue in the United States, a race track where it’s cool to wear big hats in the state of New York, and a generally breath taking environment.
Beginning last year, free WiFi was enabled at this track. I didn’t notice it in use so much because I was still working, but this past weekend was a whole different matter.
For the first time since 2006, I went to the track here as a customer, and was able to roam the grandstand, trackside and backyard at my leisure. And the thing that I kept noticing was that everywhere I turned, people were on their iPads, whether to catch up on emails, or to let their children watch their favorite movies.
It was a sight that deeply upset me. The weather was gorgeous, the place was busy, the horses were running, and I’m pretty sure it was impossible to be having a bad time there this weekend. Especially with the kids, I was appalled at seeing them watching and playing games on their parents’ tablets. It’s not how I spent my time at this track when I was a kid, and it’s not how they should spend theirs either. They ought to be running around the park, wanting to see the horses at the paddock and then watching them on the trackside sprint past them towards the finish line.
But I digress. What I really want to get to is that if it were up to me, I’d keep WiFi to the coffee shops, and other indoor places where it really belongs. Not in the outdoors, taking away from the beauty of any and all parks and other public venues. Heck, even at a community recreational center, where families go to watch their kids play sports, I feel the same. Keep it away. That’s what 3G networks are for– access on the go.
Am I the only one who feels this way?
