Wireless

Every now and then I come across new and newer inventions, or at least upgrades of technology. Meant to make the world smaller and life bigger. It slows time, eases access, shortens distance, enables communication... It allows us to form a "network", in which we willingly surround ourselves with the closest family, the choicest friends, making a distinct, individualistic world for ourselves, that is linked to, yet separable from the universe.

In the process, our lives become highly publicised. But we only display what we want others to appreciate, a mere iota of our lives, which lives up to the standard and expectation of others. The glamour and glitz is out there for everyone to see, comment on, give a thumbs up to. But the notorious remains within us.

In the gimmick of acquiring virtual friends, we fail to recognise, and preserve the human ones. There are enough pings, but no face to face conversations. There are enough :)s, but not enough sound of appreciative laughter. Suddenly one day, we find ourselves staring at the screen, wondering who the hell in the goddamn friend list will understand how it feels to lose a loved one, to be dumped, to get pathetic marks, to lose a job. And it strikes, in a world of globalised connections, we are terribly alone.

Maybe technology did not do us a favour after all. It left us waiting for one single call deep into the night, it made us relentlessly worry about things we have absolutely no control over, but which pops up in the headline nevertheless, it heightened blood pressure, it created rifts (remember the last time you sneaked into someones inbox?). It gave us inappropriate exposure, intolerable closeness, and unlimited information. Not good. Not the way it was supposed to happen. And we are looking for a way out. Slowly.

But there was a time when hearing a voice thousands of miles away, flying through continents, and such normal feats would be considered a miracle. Such capabilities were considered Godly. Are we the Gods our ancestors worshipped? Are we the answers to the questions they asked? If so, we are probably the wrong answers. The wrong Gods.

Now, if and when you think of God, you imagine a peaceful old man (woman for the feminists), wandering somewhere in the mountains, surrounded with fluffy animals and uninterrupted greenery. You surely don't think of a cool dude with earphones plugged in, swooshing away on a Yamaha R1. Does that signify we are subconsciously looking up to such a life, without the network problems?

Do not ask me to explain further, but for all we know, Nature could simply take a steep turn, pushing us all into the World where we came from. Minus the distractions, the exposure, the long distance relationships and the network problems..

A life where apple and blackberry are just fruits. Eaten by the Gods.

Disclaimer: 1. I love technology. please do not take my laptop away from me.
2. I have terrific friends. From a time before facebook.
3. And, for the record, I am still to invade some one's inbox. Sigh!