DN Singh
Advancement of technology has today played some reversal roles taking the society to an irreversible state when one gets terribly disconnected from all and from self even.
Such overuse raises so many hurdles to direct and quality interaction thus seriously affecting our relationships.
Personal relationships manifestly become a thing of the past. Now is the time people have a 24x7 engagement with cell phones leading to a clinical separation from relatives, friends and a pathetic disconnect from our own family.
Social disconnect:
See anywhere and anytime what uncompassionate detachment from each other. When earlier people used to travel and in waiting at a bus stop or at a Rly platform even strangers talked to each other and the chain of acquaintance, however short it may be but a bonding remains. All are glued to the cell phones.
Or at a bus stop such interactions have just ended and the same thing comes in between strangers that is the cell phone; talking or watching messages or audios and videos which often gets so repulsive for an onlooker.
This situation does not happen anymore. Today when people are waiting for a bus, they just pull out their cell phones and speak with old friends, missing out on the opportunity to make new ones. In large cities, many people do not know their neighbors, even though they may have lived in the same neighborhood for years. As a society, we are beginning to lose the face-to-face contact that was such an important part of our lives in the past.
The other day I was at a railway station platform in Bhubaneswar, a fairly very long one with so many stalls of eateries etc dotting. At each stall the stall owner is busy with the cell phone and so engrossed that the customer seems to be asking for an item when the owner spares very little attention.
Smartphones have the potential to be addictive, and many people struggle to put them down. The constant notifications, social media updates, and other distractions can make it difficult to stay focused on other tasks.
Danger for kids
It is all the more risky for the kids who appear religiously addicted with the cell phones watching games, even watching adult videos and for a change a parasitic leaning towards social media for study as Google brings the lessons on a platter regardless of the fact that, there is yawning gap between a student’s learning and imbibing what he learns. Just get by heart what lessons are about such platforms like tinned food.
Children often fall victim to adult stuff in FaceBook or Twitter or Insta where they are exposed to adult doses as entertainment thus hijacking their innocence and slowly turns to be an addiction.
One just becomes a socially dynamic quantity into a mentally inert being when his or her world of interaction gets concise on a small screen. Tell them to abhor such over engagement even boys and girls become intolerant and even chaotic. May be they take to extremely unimaginable recourses to get the help . There had been two reported incidents of kids committing suicide once deprived of the access to cell phones.
Community fraternity has disappeared. A shop owner in the colony or neighborhood or a milk man or a grocery shop around were then usual ones who knew us personally and at slightest need at least two or three of them would run to your rescue.
But today the pattern has changed. Either you get online home delivery or even if you go to the shop the shopper is too busy to even ogle at the customer, leaving his conversation on the mobile.
So the rest is left to the salesmen who do the job and calculate the prices and the customer and the shopper without looking at each other leave the ‘customer’ to pay through a scanner.
Despite the increased connectivity smartphones provide, they can also lead to social isolation. People may spend more time on their phones than interacting with others in person, which can lead to loneliness and feelings of disconnection.
The blue light emitted by smartphones can disrupt our natural sleep patterns, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. This can lead to fatigue, irritability, and other health problems.
Very dangerous distraction
Cell phones have made it easier to stay connected while on the go, but they have also led to increased distraction while driving. Texting and using apps while driving can be incredibly dangerous and has led to many accidents and fatalities.
Be it you are driving a four wheel or a two wheeler even, both are distracting and misbalancing. In every five two wheelers one can see three using a cell phone while on the go and their cell phone tucked inside the helmet or just resting in-between the cheek and the shoulder.
Nowadays the cyclists have also joined the league of such violators and the traffic cops look the other way.
Police only focus on helmets and other aspects but not at such dangerous mistakes.
Benefits
It is not that, it has no benefits. Cell phones have brought a whole new meaning to the term multitasking. Twenty years ago, it was not possible to talk to the office while you were at the grocery store picking up some necessary items. You could never have had a three-way business conference while you were fixing dinner or been able to deal with a business client from home while caring for a sick child. Cell phones have enabled us to do various tasks all at the same time.
About the Author: DN Singh is a Bhubaneswar-based senior journalist.
DISCLAIMER: This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with www.prameyanews.com.
