If not now, when?

I love my Samsung Google Nexus S phone that operates on Android. It's super-efficient, has thousands of smart apps, and is my best buddy when I'm away from home. I can 'like' on my own photos and can even send free SMSs internationally. Today, it is my virtual buddy, and what scares me is that maybe in the future, my only buddy.

You know what the irony is of this technology? The smarter your phone gets, the dumber we soon are prone to be. Being an ardent user of this technology, and a Facebook addict, it's only recently that I realized how small my world literally is. Be it from news updates to downloading songs and playing games where pigs are apparently in war with birds, smart phones and the internet have made many of us absolutely dependent on it. There was a time, back in school, when I used to talk to my best friend in class, after I'm home and before I sleep. My mother would ask me what's there to talk so much. But, that was the kind of bond I used to share with my closest of friends. Today, we speak around once in two weeks, and inevitably end the conversation with 'keep in touch' and the like, which I never thought would have to use it with her. My parents often complain of how silent I've become. and perhaps , now I realize it's because I'm so pre-occupied with socializing on the internet , and when outside… on my smart phone.

Giving it up is not a solution, as one will be called primitive if done so. Age old uncles and aunties will have a problem with this technology, scaring you away with latest findings on how cancer prone you are with radiations emitted by cell phones. Some might say it lacks personal touch and by saying that, I wonder what personal touch was there during times when a pigeon would deliver letters. Funnily, none of this can scare away net savvy people like us, and no matter what cancer can be born out of whichever gadget, even on our death bed we’ll probably not forget to ‘update out status’.

All said and forgotten, one thing that really scares me is how dependent I have become because of this. Also, how many of you can remember your closest friend's birthday without peeping into your phone calendar or Facebook for birthday reminders? Honestly, I don't even know what my land line number sounds like, because I don't need it anymore when I can converse freely over Skype with my sister who lives seven seas away. What's amazing is that everything from pins to pizzas are accessible today- just a click away. It saves time, too. I don't need to stand in a queue at the railway station when I can 'e-book' it. Nor do I need to go to book exhibitions for latest collections when I have Flipkart to deliver it at my doorstep. The internet is so cool, that I can catch an AR Rahman concert on YouTube for free, while other loyal fans take the trouble of paying hefty amounts to catch a live glimpse of him. All this is even better with a smartphone and 3G connection, which apparently is the new method for birth control ;) One of my professors had joked once about how net addicted today’s generation has become, that if we are asked of our grandparents’ names, we’d probably have to Google it up. Lately, I’ve realized how handy all this is when you have to constantly be in touch with people related to work and otherwise, but look at the amount of time wasted. At my age, I can see a lot of youngsters who aren’t equipped with such luxury, making most of their time travelling around, experiencing the real sun and earth. However easy our life is today because of this, I seriously think we must intend on spending more time outside with real people in a real world, as we may not realize what we’re missing on the outside. It shouldn’t be too late to regret, right?

We really are missing out on a lot, sometimes, when we take all this for granted. Unarguably, experience that comes with a personal touch leaves an immortal impression. There's so much to explore and enjoy outside the world of web. It's time that we stop confining ourselves to gadgets and gizmos and go out there. We might say that we're making life much easier with everything just a click away, but we're missing out on the real way of doing things that could probably make us stagnant and isolated with no memories left for the rest of our lives.


P.S. Samsung Galaxy Note is just amazing! Checked out my friend's phone and it has amazing storage power and a good enough camera. In fact you can even send mails in your own hand writing and its so much fun to play angry birds on a screen as huge as that :P. It's been rumoured to be better than iPhone .. do check it out, whilst you detach yourself from these gadgets after reading my post :)