You know what irritates me the most, a person sitting across the table busy on his/her so called "smart" phone. All around I see people so engrossed in their phones/tablets/phablets that to them the real world just does not seem to exist anymore.
Very recently, I went out with this pretty girl whom I had a crush upon since a long while. I was so happy to finally be able to work out some time from both our schedules, and we agreed to meet at a quiet restaurant for dinner. The atmosphere was mesmerizing, the air was filled with this special fragrance and the ambiance just screamed that "this is the place love happens". But to my utter disappointment, she did not even look up and absorb all of this, not once. She was so busy on her phone, first "checking in" into the place, tagging me, writing some nice words and answering the "comments" that followed. It was irritating, "Hello lady, here I am, sitting in front of you, and you are telling people how good a time you are having without even looking at and absorbing the beauty of the place, let alone look at me." My appreciation for the girl dropped so much that after many attempts at small talk, when she seemed just not interested in anything but her mobile phone, I respectfully paid the bill, stood up, and walked away. Away from the restaurant, and definitely away from the girl.
You see, the problem has its roots very deep and is a huge issue for people today. A recent study I read said that there were more people (young people) who said they can live without sex but not their phone! This was an eye opener. Do we really have to rethink the Maslow's Need Hierarchy, because as it seems, smartphones have took over even the most basic needs. I remember when I was in school, we were given essays to write on the topic "Technology - Bane or Boon." I, being a technology enthusiast from a very tender age, always wrote good things. But as I look at the world today, I am forced to rethink!
I am a part of it too, but have tried to refrain as much as I can from this deadlock of the virtual world, where I have a lot of friends, but in reality, even fail to acknowledge one another if we see each other in person. I used to talk to and share things with a lot of people through the so called "social" networks and "social" messengers, but when put in a face to face situation, words just fail to come out! Are these "social" networks and messengers actually making us "anti-social"?
It is my humble request to one and all, please go out and look at the world as it really is. It is beautiful. Meet people, talk to them the way it was intended, where you look into each other's eyes and share all the feelings stuck deep inside. No amount of messaging or sharing on a social network can make up for the lost time that you could have spend with people who actually care and want to really talk, and be there for you. Let the phone be the device it actually was intended to be, a device to talk to people so that you can fix appointments to actually meet them. Remember, no amount of time wasted talking to random people over messages can compensate for a mere moment of love, and satisfaction of being with the person you really care about, and who cares about you the same way.
And do watch the awesome video "Look Up" by +Gary Turk
Very recently, I went out with this pretty girl whom I had a crush upon since a long while. I was so happy to finally be able to work out some time from both our schedules, and we agreed to meet at a quiet restaurant for dinner. The atmosphere was mesmerizing, the air was filled with this special fragrance and the ambiance just screamed that "this is the place love happens". But to my utter disappointment, she did not even look up and absorb all of this, not once. She was so busy on her phone, first "checking in" into the place, tagging me, writing some nice words and answering the "comments" that followed. It was irritating, "Hello lady, here I am, sitting in front of you, and you are telling people how good a time you are having without even looking at and absorbing the beauty of the place, let alone look at me." My appreciation for the girl dropped so much that after many attempts at small talk, when she seemed just not interested in anything but her mobile phone, I respectfully paid the bill, stood up, and walked away. Away from the restaurant, and definitely away from the girl.
You see, the problem has its roots very deep and is a huge issue for people today. A recent study I read said that there were more people (young people) who said they can live without sex but not their phone! This was an eye opener. Do we really have to rethink the Maslow's Need Hierarchy, because as it seems, smartphones have took over even the most basic needs. I remember when I was in school, we were given essays to write on the topic "Technology - Bane or Boon." I, being a technology enthusiast from a very tender age, always wrote good things. But as I look at the world today, I am forced to rethink!
I am a part of it too, but have tried to refrain as much as I can from this deadlock of the virtual world, where I have a lot of friends, but in reality, even fail to acknowledge one another if we see each other in person. I used to talk to and share things with a lot of people through the so called "social" networks and "social" messengers, but when put in a face to face situation, words just fail to come out! Are these "social" networks and messengers actually making us "anti-social"?
It is my humble request to one and all, please go out and look at the world as it really is. It is beautiful. Meet people, talk to them the way it was intended, where you look into each other's eyes and share all the feelings stuck deep inside. No amount of messaging or sharing on a social network can make up for the lost time that you could have spend with people who actually care and want to really talk, and be there for you. Let the phone be the device it actually was intended to be, a device to talk to people so that you can fix appointments to actually meet them. Remember, no amount of time wasted talking to random people over messages can compensate for a mere moment of love, and satisfaction of being with the person you really care about, and who cares about you the same way.
And do watch the awesome video "Look Up" by +Gary Turk
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