Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Weirdly wired..


Once upon a time, very long ago, people visited each other when they wanted to connect. They would go to weddings and functions, meet up during festivals and when they thought about each other. Alexander Graham Bell then gave the world a magical gadget, called the telephone that helped people stay connected when they could not physically meet each other but so badly wanted to. And then all the smart Alecs in the world kept improvising it giving the world smart phones, smarter phones and the smartest of phones, stretching the very limits of imagination.

While people like ‘yours truly’ were still gushing about and making a big deal of how they could access the internet, make presentations, and enjoy video calls, the world zoomed past by their beautiful long noses into a more fantasy filled realm, which by the way, was more real than you could ever imagine.  

People could now not just take pictures on their smart phones but also print it super quick just by connecting to an app and a printer. Another app could convert their smart phones into remote controls and switch on the TV, or the music system. Yet another could connect their fitness bands to their smart phones, race cars, fly drones, or play legacy games. 

People could now glue themselves to their seats and yet know who was at the door, just by looking at their smart phones. When on a journey, they would not have to ever bother about losing their luggage, that they had just locked using their smart phone which also gave them a GPS update should it lose its proximity to them. Their smart phones also connected to their cars, telling them what was wrong with their cars should it develop a snag. Their smart phones were always at their beck and call should they need anything from mechanics to doctors, an app for everything.

But amidst all this, the true magic of the gadget was lost. A G Bell lay turning and twisting in his grave, thinking if he did indeed the right thing in giving the world his invention. People could print pictures but memories were becoming jaded. People could live stream the visitor at their doors, but the joy of opening the door to an unexpected guest was gone. Maybe, there would be no unexpected guest visiting their home after all, in the era of the smart phone, whatsapp and facebook had them all covered. An app could double up as their doctor, but could never compare to the love of being tended to with care.

Everyone had turned into solitary little islands connected to the world only with the smart phones they held in their hands. A phone that was smart enough to connect to everything in the world except to the hearts and minds of people for whom it was originally intended. Bell wished that someone would invent an app to actually connect to that. 

Maybe then, a son would know how his mother pined for him, a man would know the anguish in the heart of his beloved, or a friend would know how sorely he was being missed, just by connecting to an app.  Or better still; the app would miraculously bring their loved ones together even as they thought about them. Exactly like in the times of yore, when all they had to do when they thought of someone, was just go and meet them.


27 comments:

  1. Well I think technological advancement was inevitable. That being said, using gadgets only to keep in touch, it's a personal choice, there's still people who enjoy the casual meet up for chatter :)

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    1. of course, there are still people who'd enjoy chatting face to face compared to facebooking. The warmth that is in it is incomparable.

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  2. Exactly we are weirdly wired. I am afraid how it will be in coming few decades.

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    1. only worse I think! the whole family sits by side without speaking to each other and yet all busy connecting to someone else through their smart phone!

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  3. "A phone that was smart enough to connect to everything in the world except to the hearts and minds of people for whom it was originally intended. Bell wished that someone would invent an app to actually connect to that." - This is really wonderfully said, Titli! Great post about keeping up this image of being connected while the reality is something else!

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  4. Agree to you 100%. This reminds me of one of my post .. wherein I had mentioned
    "As the technology and communications industry reach newer heights, My Soul touches the newer bottom".
    This is very true. Though there are people who still meet to chatter, majority of them have lost the physical connecting part.
    Well said.

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    1. perfectly said Aj...you have captured the essence of what I have tried to say!

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  5. I don't think technology is so bad, just like anything else, it depends on how it is used :)

    If it weren't for that, maybe I'd not be reading your lovely post today :)

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    1. technology is great...its the connection that is lost...
      thanks for reading.

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  6. my biggest gripe it seems .. yes we have lost that touch , hearts dont meet.. we might be talking to someone , Thinking of another issue and heart beating for someone else :) if you know what i mean

    Reminds me to the good old days of inland letters..

    Bikram's

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    1. inland letters..yeah...I have written many a letter on those blue sheets of paper!

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  7. Hi Shubhangi,

    That was very well written :)

    Yes, I am sure Graham Bell would be turning and twisting in his grave, lol...I do believe that the world is getting so disconnected with each other. Where are the families the same as they were years ago? Where are those bonds of love, the real connections, and feelings we once had? It's all given way to this new era of technology, where everything seems nothing but robotic!

    I am so glad I don't use a smartphone, no mobile at all!! Yes, I hardly do because of the lack of time and because I am mostly working online, so it's used rarely. But tough to stop my kids and family, though one tries! We try to find the right balance by tweaking the day, though there's always scope to do more in this regard.

    Thanks for sharing. Have a nice weekend :)

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    1. Thanks for your thoughtful and beautiful comment Harleena! things seems to be quite robotic no doubt! You deserve an applause for going without your mobile!! I wish I could go without my mobile someday! kids want mobiles these days...and many parents oblige too...they see it as a way to know the child is safe...like you said, balance is the key...as long as it is being used for communication it is great...it is only when it starts occupying a greater part of your life, does it become a menace!!

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  8. Hi @Titli ma'am, What a wonderful post!

    I loved the title - "Wierldly wired". We are so much connected and trapped into this digital age that we now hardly beleive in meeting people physically. You feel isolated just have a video call or use your Skype. It is important to face again the real world. We had a post on Aha!NOW on a similar topic. It was a guest post by me. If you get some time so have a look. The title for - "Negative effects of technology".

    Thank you so much for sharing. Have a realxing sunday. :)

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    1. Thanks for reading Rohan! you are right, people are so lost in a virtual world that it is important indeed for them to face the real world! as much as technology is a boon to us, it is turning us all into lonely islands with just more technology around us!
      will read your guest post soon…

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  9. Well said. Our smartphones have connected us to the whole world, made our life simpler but it’s also disconnecting us from people around us.

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    1. Thank u Shilpa! that has indeed become the scenario now!

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  10. Your story is so true. It seems that our world is being haunted by technology. People are not social anymore. So what do we do? The answer is balance

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    1. Balance we must! otherwise we will end up becoming machines ourselves!

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  11. Nice post Shubhangi :) technology has become a crutch which unfortunately many of us seem to be relying on :( the irony is in the name of connected-ness we are losing our true connection!

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    1. wonderfully said Nikshep! we are indeed losing our true connections in the name of being connected all the time!

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  12. Hi Shubhangi,

    Those where the good old days when family actually talked to one another. Today its not uncommon to see a couple sitting in a restaurant on their phone while waiting for their dinner. Better yet, seeing someone texting while driving. Technology is attacking us from all angles.

    Great post!

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    1. Thank You Vernon! I kind of miss those days when we actually 'communicated' rather than just existed. texting while driving is such a common sight and nothing could be more dangerous than that! not only are people risking their own lives but also of others.

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  13. I feel like we should be responsible for what they do with technology. Progress in every aspect depends on us!

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    1. rightly said Roshni! it depends on us how we put something to good use or let it become our master!

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  14. Hi,
    "Every things comes at a price " once read ! so may be this is what we have to pay .. but still i believe it depends much on individuals ..

    I loved the title :D

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At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person..deep gratitude for those who have lighted the flame within me!! your comments will be appreciated..

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