“What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.”- Leisure, WH Davies
As children we were taught this poem, but it is now when we are all grown up that we truly appreciate it. We live in a world where not an hour goes by without a gadget by our side. From the alarm that goes off to get us out of bed, to the constant beeps and chimes that connect us to our friends, family and work all day long, a simple gadget like a mobile has now transformed itself into a necessity, armed with apps that are aimed to make life easy. Attend to a missed payment immediately or source a flight ticket in an instant! Even stepping out for an evening of fun will have you bring out your phone and look up apps like BookMyShow and Zomato for booking or reviews! It’s just a matter of perspectives, but what can be termed as convenience can also be termed as digital dependancy… right? So when you can’t let go of your gadget, or can’t imagine life without a mobile by your side, its time to try the digital detox.
So what does a typical day in our lives look like? The dynamics of daily routine change with yuppies making their own rules to live by. Wake up to your favourite number – with the mobile blasting the tune that will leave you humming for the day. Could be Adele crooning Hello or U2’s Beautiful Day! As you hit snooze, start checking updates on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Half a dozen likes and comments later, you cant stop but ping the WhatsAppers who’ve been trying to keep you up all night. A few emojis later, you realise that some work emails may need to be attended too .. Ugh! The irony of getting late for work, when you have already started working hits you!
You get ready, make a few calls over a half eaten breakfast and run to your car to drive down to work, crossing your fingers that you don’t hit the peak hour traffic. If not, then you just look up the cab booking app and voila, you can use the time during travel to get more work done on the way to work. Worry much! Order in lunch at office on another app and glare at your phone as the world passes you by. You may be chatting with friends, but are you truly aware of what’s going on with them? Engrossed in work and distracted at times by the travel diaries of many, temptation beckons and you slip in & out of ticket and vacation booking portals and apps with half baked plans to step out of the ordinary.
Even after office hours, nothing changes. Funny stories or jokes are no longer spoken out loud – after all its easier to WhatsApp three of them in the time you finish one! In fact, you barely spot couples having a conversation with each other without a mobile playing the third wheel! Remembering phone numbers of our dear ones too, have become a thing of the past thanks to our complacency & digital dependancy!
Wouldn’t it easier to get our heads outta that small screen around which we have started aligning our lives? It’s time to smell the coffee and realise the pleasure in the simpler things in life, especially when the world is about so much more than the gadget we can’t seem to leave behind! Try digital detox to reassess life and get the priorities right.
If you look closely, you will realise that the price of staying connected on the mobile is the disconnect from society at large. The warm embrace of your friends catching up is incomparable to the number of likes from acquaintances on a selfie. Soaking in the beauty of various locales is priceless thank to the memories that are created in a split second! So if you pick up your phone today, catch up with a bestie and start the digital detox at least for a couple of hours. Let go of the anticipation or the force of habit that has you glancing at your phone every passing minute, and look around you. It’s time to break the shackles of digital dependancy and rediscover yourself today.
