Before I start pouring my heart out on this post, I wish to declare that I have no ill-will against technology; on the contrary, I am one of the biggest fans of it. The advent of technology has undoubtedly changed the view inside and outside our windows. For the good parts, it has reduced the time that we take in sending our important messages to our friends, who live far away from us, increased our connectivity, eased our transportation time, ensured that people can earn from the comfort from their homes, which has highly helped parents and underprivileged friends of our society, and eliminated our chances of boredom. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of advantages of technology — I am not sure, it would take more than a few hours in pointing out every benefit of technology.
However, there is something daunting about our dependency on it for our existence. If you climb up my window to take a sneak peek into my life, you would be astonished to see that there is nothing extraordinarily different happening here, than anybody else’s life. Like everybody else, you would see my head buried in either my phone, laptop, or tv. Even when I am having a conversation with anyone, my mind is obsessing over whether I should check my mail or not. Lately, however, I have changed a little bit and included books in my daily routine. The irony here is that I have developed a liking for ebooks as well, so you see the problem. While we are on the subject, I am planning to buy a kindle soon!
I wasn’t born that long ago; in fact, I am only in my late twenties, yet I remember the difference in the world outside the window before and after the influence of technology. Earlier, I and my mom used to spend a few hours of our evenings on the balcony and observe people. We saw people talking and mingling with one another outside their homes. I didn’t find anything extraordinary in this view; however, looking back at that time, I miss it. Today, when I am out on the balcony, the view has changed, with almost no exception. Now, people leave the comfort of their homes only when they have a mission. Even when they are outside, they are either checking their social media accounts, texting, or talking on their phones. We are no longer comfortable being on our own; we are always carrying our virtual friends with us. We are never “in the moment.”
It is imperative that we see the problem with this lifestyle. Of course, this is not the first time that someone is writing about the importance of living “in the moment.” But when I planned to change the view “inside my window,” I could not resist appealing to my readers, friends, and relatives to spare a few hours every day to devote to their family; let’s give our loved ones our undivided attention every single day without fail.
I pledge to make my life larger than technology and beautify the life inside the window of my home. Do you?
P.S. This post is in response to the daily prompt: Window
I share these same sentiments! I was playing a tennis league match last night and my partner checked her texts on every changeover. I told her that there was nothing that couldn’t wait until our match was over. I even start to feel tense every time I check social media, email, and texts.