The flip-side of Watsap and miscellany:-

That the Internet technology has invaded one and all quite profoundly is absolutely no surprise to anyone perhaps. Addictive, tempting, mania, ‘unputdownable ‘et al are some of the much hackneyed synonyms associated with the Smartphone. Nonetheless the charms of the virtual world are way beyond than what meets the eye. As a matter of fact, most technology could easily be categorised as ‘necessary evil.’ If one really wants to chart out the pros and cons of technology, we could go on with a long rant; yet that doesn’t exactly stop mankind from inventing, needless to say that Smartphones reach a virtual high almost every day- the magnitude of the possibilities in the virtual arena are simply indefinable. All of us yield to its temptation, be it any feature, at some point or the other. Those who limit themselves to the non-Smartphone are still caught in a frenzy of their own- Facebook is still accessible via the good old desktop! They perhaps are slow in liking/commenting/time-lining and all other paraphernalia, yet they are very much visibly present in the gamut. If one really has to trace down addiction to internet technology, then it should first be pointed out to Google. Come on now, does anyone’s day end without Google? How many of us diligently reach out to the Dictionary/Thesaurus (Printed Version strictly)? How many of us genuinely care about Spellings and Grammar, that is do not look at the Word Prompt and have it corrected? Hasn’t technology changed the way we read and write? Of course there is a fraction of populace that perhaps does everything in the same primitive manner even as there is a technology outburst by the minute, but isn’t that how life in general is? There is a flip-side to almost everything. This is perhaps why we have a necessary ‘pros & cons’ and ‘debate’ section at least, right from high-school education! We are simply trained that way.

What we can change though, as an individual is moderate the use of technology. The rationale behind moderation entirely rests with the individual. All of us know that smoking is injurious to health- even with all the gory images on cigarette packs, people continue to smoke. All we could do is try and prevent folks from smoking through public interest ads, if one wants to still succumb; it shall be at their own peril. Alternatively, Smartphone ads are quirky and appealing- take the recent ‘no ullu banawing ads’ which have been a constant across all TV channels especially during the election campaigning for instance. That for sure has accelerated Smartphone sales by a whopping number! The universal USP though is to ‘stay connected,’ that too in a cost-effective way. The concept is so simple, which is why Smartphones are such a hit, attracting all age groups alike! It straightaway hits the ‘loneliness’ factor which when left unattended, can lead to various other problems. Fortunately with watsap now, one has the option of hiding the ‘last seen’ status! So while we still stay so closely networked, we could still choose to avoid contempt by learning when to shut off rather than whining about technology. Isn’t there a turn-off option in everything?