Unplug

“Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink”, these are famous lines from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge were written to describe the helpless state of the sailor wo was surrounded by water (salty sea) but could not drink any drop from it. Similarly, in today’s time these lines can be roughly translated into “Boys and Girls everywhere but not a single person to talk.” I am saying this because the mobile phones, tablets, computers, laptops, video games have occupied such a large part of our day that we don’t get time to actually have a conversation with our family, friends or anyone at all. This is the sad and harsh reality of today, that the technology that was meant to reduce the distance between people and make them finish work faster so that they can spend more time with their family has actually increased the distance. It all started with computers, then cell phones came into the market and conquered it all. Now almost everyone has a mobile phone and even young kids know how to use it for playing games! Internet is the icing on the cake that has made everyone busy on social media.
Technology advanced and everyone has access to a smart phone and internet access at a very low costs which led to the development of a large number of social media handles. The current situation is that if someone says that he or she is not using nay social media platform then people don’t take person seriously or think that he or she is far from being updated. Thus, peer pressure and the need to stay connected to everyone even if one doesn’t want to has led to the problem that everyone is spending most of their time on social media. Everyone in on social media whether rich, poor, young, old, etc. even the corporate world has made good use of this fact and now so many ads are available, online shopping websites, e-books, and what not. The corporate world enjoys the marketing they get and the online buyers feel that online shopping is hassle free. Thus, apart from just socializing, the social media has become a platform for business as well. Also, people feel free to showcase their talents on social media and gain popularity in no time.
It is very clear that social media, cell phones and internet have eased our lives in a lot of ways. They allow us to interact with our loved ones who are living far away and it feels that they are just a screen away. It allows people to do a lot work easily like assignments and projects, presentations, calculations and what not whether it is for education or office work. Online shopping is another advantage for people who cannot take out time to go shopping and also feel hesitation to do so. Even food can be ordered online and there is no need to go out and eat. Everyone can stay at home and yet roam around the world using their fingertips. Wow! This has been a great achievement for mankind but have we ever thought what we lost in all this?
The most important thing that we have lost is the human touch. The youth has free access to internet and there are no rules to follow online, which they like. People have become addicted to the social media and there is so much competition of looking happy and content that they have started posting fake things. There is obsession about being better than the other one and the healthy competition has been long lost. Thus, everyone is forced to look good, look happy and look rich whatever may be the reality. Also, this addiction has led to less productivity at work as everyone is busy running their social media handles even at work. Staying indoor was already bad and now gadgets with internet has made it more difficult for people to go out and do things.
Simple activities like meeting a few friends for coffee or meeting relatives for lunch has almost come to an end. There are so many health hazards related to this obsession. Obesity being the most common due to decrease in movement is followed by eye problems, posture problems, backache and what not. We should be beware of something like Albert Einstein said, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.”
This assignment or rather a challenge to unplug myself was a much-needed eye-opener for all of us. If we pay attention then we might be surprised to find out about how much time we spend on mobile phones, laptops, social media or using the internet. It’s heartbreaking but it has become the maximum amount of time that we are awake. We have stopped doing actual human interaction or conversation with each other. There have been situations when two people are sitting face to face but instead of talking to each other, they are using their mobile phones. We don’t feel the need to look into the eye and talk anymore and this is getting worse. We have been losing our patience with the increasing addiction of internet and social media. The things that were made for our benefit and for making us more efficient have actually spoilt us. Rather, I would say that we have let them spoil us and make us lose the human touch. Our emotions, our feelings and our expressions have all got limited to online modes. We don’t express a lot to each other while talking these days and this is really sad and it is getting worse.
In the exercise that assessed the use of social media, I scored okay according to myself. I still prefer face-to-face communication rather than online interaction. But yes, when I felt alone and sad social media helped me feel positive and normal to a certain extent. But in the end, only my loved ones made me feel better and helped me come back to normal. I also don’t feel lost if I don’t go online and neither do, I feel the urge to check my social media handles very often, once in a day is fine. I did the activity and actually took a break from the gadgets that I use on a daily basis. To my surprise, I had a lot of free time and also a lot of me time. I felt great after the unplugged session. It’s like taking a break which is good, just like our phones switch off when we put too much pressure on them. It was also reassuring to know that I have not become obsessed about me image on social media. I still feel that what everyone thinks does not matter but what the people who are important to me, think about me, matters the most. Thus, from now on I would try to stay connected through meetings and conversations more rather than just texts and phone calls.
In the end, I would like to say that we live in a very beautiful planet with wonderful creations of God. We have only one life to enjoy all this Earth has to provide and I don’t think we should waste any of it impressing someone who doesn’t care about us. Instead we should be with people who actually are important to us and care about our well-being. Everyone should use the gadgets and internet for their own benefits but with caution. These technological advancements are here to help us and not to take away the best of us. One should be fully aware about the pros and cons of all our doings. We, humans, have a very special gift of talking, expressing a variety of emotions and I think we should exploit it fully. Instead of spending all our lives updating our status and life on social media, we should get the hold of it and take a break to enjoy what we have achieved with our loved ones. I personally think that we won’t be disappointed, will we be?

References

1. Siddiqui, S., & Singh, T. (2016). Social media its impact with positive and negative aspects. International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research, 5(2), 071-075.
2. Dunlop, S., Freeman, B., & Jones, S. C. (2016). Marketing to youth in the digital age: The promotion of unhealthy products and health promoting behaviours on social media. Media and Communication, 4(3), 35-49.
3. Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018). Teens, social media & technology 2018. Retrieved from Pew Research Center website: http://www. pewinternet. org/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018.
4. Wood, M. A., Bukowski, W. M., & Lis, E. (2016). The digital self: how social media serves as a setting that shapes youth’s emotional experiences. Adolescent Research Review, 1(2), 163-173.