How dependent are you on technology?
Bonding
with family and friends decreases alarmingly as we increasingly interface
through technology for almost all our emotional and social needs
We
need to start getting worried when the first place we turn to in distress is
social media. Why would anyone seek faceless succour and unseen hands of
support, rather than the arms of dear ones? Whatever happened to good old bonding
with family and friends?
Where were Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor’s friends when she needed them the most? A tweet or phone call away, sure, but why didn’t she have anyone holding her hand and lending a shoulder to cry her heart out? How come nobody caring and vigilant barged in when she locked herself in a hotel room alone, two days before she died?
Nobody can say for certain whether Sunanda took her own life in a moment of acute distress or it was taken away from her but one sure culprit that none can deny, is technology! Had there been no cellphones or Twitter, Shashi Tharoor and Mehr Tarar would not have exchanged flirtatious texts that nurtured their “intellectual companionship.” Sunanda would not have stumbled upon the exchange of text messages and reacted violently; nor in a bizarre twist, would she have sought succour and redressal in the arms of the Twitterati. Consequently, the issue would not have snowballed to the extent it did, threatening careers and ambitions, and escalating emotions and tempers much beyond what may have happened behind closed doors.
Why do people lay bare their emotions on Twitter and Facebook? One reason could be that the social networks are the easiest place to seek concurrence for your emotions and thoughts without having to explain yourself, answer questions or expose your vulnerability. Social online platforms encourage self-obsession and allow you to withdraw from an interaction whenever you wish to, at the click of a button.
Indeed technology and increased social interaction enable more complex relationships than those that ever existed earlier. Previously, you would meet someone interesting and maybe think about them a bit, fantasize and vaguely hope to meet again some day. Temptation was a slave to destiny, and if fate brought you together again, you could think of making your next move. Today temptation enslaves you instead and technology offers sure access to anyone you are tempted to link up with. It is hardly surprising that most do give in to their basic instincts.
Concurrently, if technology helps strike up relationships, it also offers an easy handle to trip these up. One misfired SMS or email; one flirty or suggestive text read by a spouse or a partner, and all hell breaks loose. What was the territory of the mind and fantasies is all laid out now in technological beeps and waves, easy to discover and decipher.
Nobody can deny the benefits of technology and the ease it has brought to daily interaction and life, from booking holidays and hotels, movies and performances, paying bills, bank transactions to securing our heath and security. But what is worrisome is the way it has taken over our emotional and social lives.
What is scary is that most of us are so wired today that we are enslaved to our cellphones. What worries me is that I do not remember any telephone numbers or addresses by heart anymore. Sadly, I need reminders on my cell, synchronized with my laptop, to remind me of important dates; what is pathetic is that I text or wish friends on Facebook on their birthdays, or when I Whatsapp my son in the next room, rather than walk across to talk to him. Technology discourages us from various forms of mental and physical exercise and makes us self-centred.
And what was very, very scary was when my phone died on me two days ago and I suffered severe withdrawal symptoms and depression – swinging from a sense of helplessness to acute irritability and anger. And worse, when I got it back in my hand today, I almost sobbed with relief. Must decrease dependence on my cellphone. I just added the reminder to my cell and synchronized it to the laptop…
VINITA DAWRA NANGIA TL140202
Where were Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor’s friends when she needed them the most? A tweet or phone call away, sure, but why didn’t she have anyone holding her hand and lending a shoulder to cry her heart out? How come nobody caring and vigilant barged in when she locked herself in a hotel room alone, two days before she died?
Nobody can say for certain whether Sunanda took her own life in a moment of acute distress or it was taken away from her but one sure culprit that none can deny, is technology! Had there been no cellphones or Twitter, Shashi Tharoor and Mehr Tarar would not have exchanged flirtatious texts that nurtured their “intellectual companionship.” Sunanda would not have stumbled upon the exchange of text messages and reacted violently; nor in a bizarre twist, would she have sought succour and redressal in the arms of the Twitterati. Consequently, the issue would not have snowballed to the extent it did, threatening careers and ambitions, and escalating emotions and tempers much beyond what may have happened behind closed doors.
Why do people lay bare their emotions on Twitter and Facebook? One reason could be that the social networks are the easiest place to seek concurrence for your emotions and thoughts without having to explain yourself, answer questions or expose your vulnerability. Social online platforms encourage self-obsession and allow you to withdraw from an interaction whenever you wish to, at the click of a button.
Indeed technology and increased social interaction enable more complex relationships than those that ever existed earlier. Previously, you would meet someone interesting and maybe think about them a bit, fantasize and vaguely hope to meet again some day. Temptation was a slave to destiny, and if fate brought you together again, you could think of making your next move. Today temptation enslaves you instead and technology offers sure access to anyone you are tempted to link up with. It is hardly surprising that most do give in to their basic instincts.
Concurrently, if technology helps strike up relationships, it also offers an easy handle to trip these up. One misfired SMS or email; one flirty or suggestive text read by a spouse or a partner, and all hell breaks loose. What was the territory of the mind and fantasies is all laid out now in technological beeps and waves, easy to discover and decipher.
Nobody can deny the benefits of technology and the ease it has brought to daily interaction and life, from booking holidays and hotels, movies and performances, paying bills, bank transactions to securing our heath and security. But what is worrisome is the way it has taken over our emotional and social lives.
What is scary is that most of us are so wired today that we are enslaved to our cellphones. What worries me is that I do not remember any telephone numbers or addresses by heart anymore. Sadly, I need reminders on my cell, synchronized with my laptop, to remind me of important dates; what is pathetic is that I text or wish friends on Facebook on their birthdays, or when I Whatsapp my son in the next room, rather than walk across to talk to him. Technology discourages us from various forms of mental and physical exercise and makes us self-centred.
And what was very, very scary was when my phone died on me two days ago and I suffered severe withdrawal symptoms and depression – swinging from a sense of helplessness to acute irritability and anger. And worse, when I got it back in my hand today, I almost sobbed with relief. Must decrease dependence on my cellphone. I just added the reminder to my cell and synchronized it to the laptop…
VINITA DAWRA NANGIA TL140202
No comments:
Post a Comment