I mourn the loss of ‘being disconnected’. In the ‘pre-internet’ era, I would go out to school and that’s it, I was off the grid, no one would know where I was, till I came back (I used to be in school only, if you were wondering). But, today with the advent of ‘internet’ and more so with the ‘smart phone’ there is no more ‘off the grid’. We are always online — always connected. Isn’t it strange that we now talk about life as ‘online’ & ‘offline’? I don’t recollect having these concepts ten years back.
We’ve come very far. From going online to find relevant information we have moved to finding information for information sake. We just enjoy ‘knowing’ stuff. Scientists have proven that small doses of dopamine (the pleasure inducing hormone) are released whenever we grab our cells anticipating a message or call (just like dogs salivating at the sound of a bell in Pavlov’s experiments). Have you ever felt your phone vibrating just to pull it out from your pocket to find it didn’t? Well, its what the psychiatrists call the ‘phantom vibrating syndrome’. Korean government recognizes ‘internet addiction’ as a mental illness. These days we spend most of our waking hours tethered to internet — before our laptops, with our cellphones. We sit before dinner tables, but lost in our phones; we walk with our heads down, typing; we have more Facebook friends than actual friends; we prefer IM than direct discussions; we’re always into our glowing rectangles blissfully lost in the information stream. This connectedness has come at a price. The price of solitude, face to face interactions, leisurely strolls, physical activity, etc. Technology has greatly improved my life. But, I’m unable to shake the feeling that something innocent is destroyed forever in this process. Something I can’t recover back — a sense of being aloof, a realization that no one knows where I am.
Relations also have changed. A good friend of mine invited me to his wedding through Facebook. When I asked why he didn’t bother to call me, he said, since he invited me in Facebook he didn’t see why he had to call again. I wondered if our relation needed examination or if this was the next phase in our relationships. Social networks are our new ‘addas’ (hangouts), the same way email is our new address. Our digital selfs reside on these sites servers for posterity to all to view and monitoring our digital lives has become as important as monitoring our ‘real’ lives.
It’s not just with me, side effects of technology have sunk into the collective consciousness of society as well. Its expectations have changed: be on a social network, have a cell phone, reply to emails/return calls ASAP; (read: respond immediately or be labelled ‘irresponsible’). It’s like everyone is yelling at us: It’s your mistake if you are not available at beck and call. The onus lies with you, you are liable to explain why you didn’t pickup the call or respond to the email. Then there is the nagging feeling that we may have missed a golden opportunity while disconnected. None of these are explicitly stated, but invisible expectations each of us has imposed on the other.
But, life as I knew it changed a lot in the last ten years and the changes brought in by internet have revolutionized the world. There is no undoing it. There is no running away from internet, it’s a part and parcel of everyday life. We have to accept that we now live as much online as offline. Though appearing distinct, the line between these two has blurred – they are interlinked. We update our status, photos, blog based on what happened ‘in real life’ aka offline, and then talk about what all we saw/read/heard online when we are offline. Can we really live without ‘google’ at our finger tips? We depend a lot on internet be it for knowledge or finding lost friends and good deals. Then, should technology be blamed? Or the way we use it? Like every invention, its potential can be used for good or bad – moderation is the key. Perhaps now, there is no way to be completely ‘disconnected’ (a luxury belonging to the lost past). But, if I want to go offline, isn’t it just the matter of switching off my cell phone and going out to smell the roses? It’s important to recognize that we still have ‘choice’. Choice to unplug.
And, the writing is clear on the wall: it’s no more onlinve vs offline, but, online & offline.
Two contradicting views:
Against: Is internet driving us mad?
For: In real life
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