Weeks of planning, months of trial, and years of heartache is what it took for one to approach their crush and confess their feelings. Writing letters to your loved ones was a time-consuming process, but had a personal touch to it – your touch. Sitting with your family for dinner was not an obligation, but an opportunity to spend time with the people we love.
Sitting at my desk in the office, a random question popped into my head: has technology emotionally handicapped us? While several researchers across the globe say that we, as a generation are addicted to technology, there are people who believe technology to be one of the most important factors in the growth of the human race. As two-pronged arguments kept popping in my mind, my question remained unanswered.
With the advancements in technology, I have the power to explore the entire globe simply at the touch of my finger. I am always ‘connected’ with my friends and family – from knowing what they are brunching on Instagram, to their latest fashion trends on Facebook. All information about the world and beyond lies just a few clicks away. But do we really know if our loved ones are happy? Do we ever make the effort of calling them and checking on their health on a busy weekday? Wouldn’t it be better if we were with them and living in the moment?
Yes, technology is important for the progression of the human race, but so is humanity. Clicking a picture of a tormented soul on the street and uploading it on social media with a social justice hashtag may be a viable option for sharing the reality, but a helping hand would do much more. Sitting down with your family and discussing their problems is a better option than taking your father out on Father’s Day, just to show the world how much you love your dad.
Trapped in this continuous loop of being better than the rest on social media, we have completely forgotten how to be a better person in reality. We need distractions – distractions from our work and family, and the only distraction which is easily available today is the internet. Our judgments are not ours anymore and our lives revolve around the number of likes on our photos. Our list of friends on Facebook increases every day, but our reality is living under the shadows of loneliness.
Love, which is one of the purest emotions humans feel, has gone online. We don’t date anymore, we Tinder! Swiping on someone on a screen to find love is the latest trend of today’s generation. We love on Tinder, fight on Facebook and break up on WhatsApp!
I know the availability of technology has given us an upper hand and made life simpler for us. But sometimes, while passing by an unknown road, I prefer asking routes from the people around me, rather than looking down on my phone for directions. Maybe I am wrong; maybe the person I depend upon is wrong, but somehow, it makes me feel more human!