GSM is the 21st century fast pass ticket to communication. By fast pass, I mean a very quick and more exciting way than any other. Lately, I have been wondering what life was like before the emergence of global system of mobile communication. Can you still remember? But for mental laziness, I can not vividly recall how those good old days were like. How did we keep in touch? How were business transacted over a long distance?
It is amazing how everything seems to revolve around technology these days- in politics we have electronic voting, in education we have online examination, in relationship we have online dating, in economy we have online banking and of course the now popular automated teller machine/cash machine (ATM). Everything is now within reach; with just a click you can access anything from any part of the world.
Ironically, this has not made life as simple as its spelling. In fact, things are more complicated. We are constantly buying new brands while on the watch for the latest version for upgrade. Thus we operate on face value, we live in anxiety when our finances runs too low to meet the luxury of stocking the “stuff” or panic over our phone battery run out of power- that important call may be missed!
Our efficiency eludes us when we lack access to these technology- messages are composed and disseminated poorly, the queue in the banks gets longer, we fail to remember the birthday of close friends because our phone reminder didn’t remind us etc.
I wonder what life will be like without phones or internet. Obviously communication will be cheaper. Everyone will be more connected to self and be dependent once again on oral communication for information dissemination. Urgent ones will be sent through snail mail (by post) and like its name imply, such messages will travel as slow as a snail. And of course the rest of us who have so much embraced techno-age will feel very bored and cut out of civilization!
Communication is technology in this glow of 21st century, our world moves in gigabytes and technology is our fast pass ticket to globalization. And what can stop us from the hype of being connected to keep up the pace in our fast track lane?
1 comment:
Your article reminds me of an excerpt from Henry David Thoreau's foundational naturalistic and transcendentalist text, "Walden." Even in the 1850s, he comments on the over-complication of urban life. He reflects on these paradoxical modern "conveniences" reflecting-- “But lo! men have become the tools of their tools" and that "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."
Indeed, even then, lives became complicated by what seemed like luxuries. Imagine what Thoreau would say now??? Considering my laptop is attached to me daily...I fear I would be considered a tool of my tool.
How daring it would be to let these conveniences go?
How can we find a balance between this idealism and practicality of technology?
Keep thinking and keep writing. :)
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