I briefly wake up, somewhere in the darks of night. I see my
mobile lying silently by my pillow, synchronously flashing a tiny white light
every alternate second. I catch hold of it and punch the button, its 3:02 am,
my phone tells me. What it also tells me, is few messages from Wats app that are
lined up for me to read. Those may not need my immediate attention; however, my
urge to check the messages comfortably defeats my mind which keeps yelling at
my eyes- “There are 3 long cozy hours of sleep ahead, shut down”.
This happens almost regularly, each night a different time from
late night gets captured as my “last seen”. Sometimes I also see my Wifi router
LEDs blinking, whoa- its still broadcasting whatever the world has to offer me,
even at midnight. I close wats app to open MoneyControl, and check how
Americans are fishing in Dow Jones today. Occasional alerts from Facebook keep the
phone buzzing thereafter, now that’s what my generation calls a “sound” sleep.
Come morning, I wake up, unwinding myself and rubbing my
eyes, eager to check if the latest pictures I shared of my kid yesterday have
received more likes throughout the night; after all, why under estimate the
friendship I share with my distant friends in the USA? And also with few
nocturnal ones in India, again, I may not be the only one shrugging off
some sleep at 3:02 am?
Friendship, kinship, bonding, relationships, are all polymorphous
terms with defined measures and intensities these days. “You click a really bad photograph and share it on FB, which still
receives hundreds of likes, it doesn't make your photo good; it only proves you
have lot of friends” said an eminent photographer in a recent seminar. Likes
and comments on FB, and group memberships in Wats app actually “measure” your
engagement in relationships.
With waning tolerance, lack of patience, brittle egos,
brevity in conversation and swift mood swings, are we being vexed by this “over
connection”? A famous life column in TOI once discussed about the socially coy lot
as being most vulnerable to this feeling of “being left out”. The more the
internet penetrates into our lives, the more it leaves us feeling left out
(FLO). At times boredom and depression starts mounting, making us feel deprived
of all the good things that our online friends do, and more importantly, flash
on the internet. People broadcasting their covert feelings loudly are making
themselves vulnerable to either a collective mockery or jealousy of these FLOs.
Many times however, this loudness is in itself a way to shun the silence caused
by the boredom and dullness in our own life. Every single like cheers us up
momentarily.
Responding to the warning bells, some people have actually
started implementing "No mobile Saturdays" or similar initiatives,
just an attempt to momentarily disconnect from gadgets and connect with life.
Some bonds actually require us to untangle from the web and let ourselves free
from the callous and overly-clung world of internet. Personal meet ups are claiming
space and hobby enthusiasts are actually collaborating to craft out a life
outside the web. Well, life still breathes more comfortably outside the mobile
phones and tablets.
Doesn't a mug of coffee with an interesting book in hand and
classic track around entice you as much as a group of old friends laughing
their heart out on a fun filled evening? There actually is much more to life than what meets the eye on the
gadgets.
Just as James Bond says in Skyfall, sometimes the old
methods are most effective. You bet!
