Monday, January 16, 2012

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 :)

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Well, this is the first time I'm reading your blog, and I can see this is something you're very good at.. Your language's versatile yet simple, and you speak of the most common of things. I'll make sure I keep up with your blogs:) keep up the good work, and oh yeah. Nice thoughts:) "spoken like a wise man" :p

VVK said...

There you go betraying my heart.....lol
I will get into the betraying part a bit later.....Well I have always read your posts and this is the first time i am commenting to one......well you truly said about the need to spend real time with real ppl.
I understand it more cause even after being a tech savy person my phone is still NOT smart enough...and i am at the receiving end of total ignorance by the ppl whose phones are excessively SMART and getting SMarter by the sec..

Now the betraying part......I am a follower of urs in twitter, Facebook have send repeated request ;) and ya have watched a lot of your videos.....
Two videos requires special mentions one is Etho Varmukilin and another one is your live performance at BluFrog - NAkumo......both are exceptionally brilliant!
And following you in twitter I have come to know of many common likes(Videos, personalities)....but but today u betrayed me with SAMSUNG!!!

Its the most un imaginative firm i have ever seen....and your take at iPhone was un warranted for ;)

Anyways.....Keep Singing and spread the happiness!! ;D

Neha Nair said...

VVK - Thank you for those compliments :)) .. am not a Samsung fan, but an Android one :)

VVK said...

hmmmmmmmmmm ok Android is fine ;)
and ya if u r into reading...... should chk out Biography on Steve Jobs... maybe u will feel differently about Apple

Anonymous said...

Boredom personified is boredom personified
is boredom personified
whether you have the smartest phone on earth
blah blah blahh....yawn!!!

Vishnu Visakh S said...

Hey.. Nehz.. hw r u :D Jst came to say Hii.. I m lil busy these days.. so sorry, tht m not consistent in reaching ur blog these days.. :)catch u later.. take care of ur throat.. Sing well :D

Anonymous said...

With Huge respect for Avial! Please start concentrating on your singing and not just the web.Your part of Avial live shows suck!(latest one at my college for Dhwani)
Don't bask in the glory of your primitive 'etho varmukilin' number.You are the same person who raped the lovely song Hello Mr ethirkakshi and many others right?..so spare Us!

Neha Nair said...

Thank you anonymous .. will spare you this time :)

Tuni Justin said...

Hi Neha, I love you music, especially your voice.And i love you so much. It may be because of you music and the way you look whatever i mean it.I'm wishing you 'all the very best' for your future in music and in life.:)

Half-Blood Geek said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Half-Blood Geek said...

Android? Seriously? Its true that I was equally amazed to see that game he showed us in his Samsung note. But now I'm downloading the same game to my iPod touch 3rd generation which now runs iOS 5 :) And that's the beauty of Apple devices! Product quality, upgradablilty and user experience (whether its opensource or not) matters! But yes, I'm optimistic about the Microsoft-Nokia tie-up for LUMIA but thumbs down for Android! I'm borrowing the words of my friend here: "Android is a funny OS!" :D

Anish.k said...

hello Neha...........
Hearing these type of blogs from u type people interesting .........because of these technologies, we are able read this .......the way you share also like

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Neha Nair said...

Anonymous: not yet !

Neha Nair said...

Anonymous: not yet !