Don’t you sometimes long for the days when phones werejust phones, cameras were just cameras and computers were simply boxes in yourliving room?
Ok, I admit the dramatic rise in technology and itsconvergence has changed the way we function for the better. But I still findmyself yearning for the days when a face to face conversation wasn’tsubordinate to a mobile ring or a BBM ping.
When did we become slaves to our devices?
If you like film and have been fortunate enough towatch Terry Gilliam’s Brazil orKubrick’s A Clockwork Orange thereare two scenes, which make me think about my relationship with my smart phone.In both films, our protagonists are put in a room, strapped to an electricchair (head and all) and subject to varying degrees of “conditioning”. Ouch! Well, if I wake up in the middle of thenight sweating with a red flashing light in my head wondering if I’ve got a newmessage on my Blackberry you may get my point.
An extreme example but well worth noting. How do youswitch off? Can you ever turn off your phone, your data services, your alerts?Isn’t that worse? The fear and expectation would drive me crazy.
To be fair there’s a lot that’s good about technology,probably more than not. Social media has changed the way we communicate, fueledpolitical change, created sub-cultures and made information as immediate aspossible. In fact, I sometimes get my news via Facebook newsfeeds before BBCNews. A strange world indeed.
Anyway, back to phones. I’ve never been an avidphotographer so camera phones are wasted on me. In fact, I wish I could opt forone without a built-in X mega-pixel, ultra sensitive, high-res blah blah “ nowthat would be something!
And for 3G, Internet on the go, instant messaging, ofcourse I see the benefits; it’s just that I don’t want to see (re. hear) themwherever I go. I’m supposed to be in charge not the other way around!
But until I get a good night’s sleep, I think I’m goingto be doomed to a life of techno-conditioning…with limited upgrades.
RahulAhmad is Editor (Online) - thegoan.net.
Thisis his take on technology, culture, general banter and brain food.
