"Where's my mobile? What's your mobile number? Just text me.. Give me a missed call.. What's the wi-fi password? Ohmigod.. network is really bad etc.." This is what we hear day in and day out right? The mobile has (for many) become almost an extension of our arm.. and a part of our body in it's own right! Is this a boon or a bane? Am just sharing my thoughts.. do please feel free to decide for yourself!
Thinking back to a time before mobile phones became really popular.. friendships were solid and strong.. We used to return from school.. freshen up.. have a quick snack.. complete our homework.. and go down to play! If we were late, friends would come and ring the doorbell saying "Hurry up.. we are playing a new game today.. all of us are waiting for you.. it's no fun without you"! We were "face to face" and "real" friends and what you saw was EXACTLY what you got! If you missed a friend, you just went over and spent time with him/her.. If someone was sick you made a real handmade card and wrote a message with the handwriting sloping up or down.. and went to meet him/her in person!
Now that we're all grown up we have become formal.. we text a friend and ask when it's a good time to meet.. if it's convenient.. if we're not interrupting something really important.. It makes me wonder if I'm doing something of earth-shattering importance that I shouldn't be disturbed by an unexpected call or visit from a good friend.. What if that friend is going through distress.. or has fantastic news to share.. or needs some help and it's too important exciting or urgent to have to be filtered to my availability of time? Tragic..
Frequently when I am in a restaurant with friends or family.. it strikes me as to how many people are busy on their phones.. is THAT what we schedule time with our friends for? Am article I read recently said that a group of four friends in Sweden went out for dinner.. they wanted to spend quality time with each other and share a meaningful conversation so they all put their mobiles face down on the table before starting dinner.. The rule was that whoever answered their phone first would pay the bill! What a brilliant idea.. I have been guilty of looking at my phone while with friends too.. and realize how disrespectful it is.. From now on, only calls from home will be answered (in case of a possible emergency) but nothing else.. the least I can do for my friend when we are together is to be completely present WITH and TO them!
The mobile is terrific when we have friends across the oceans.. especially since the art of writing letters is now practically obsolete.. with writing emails following a close second! It is such a joy that at the tap of a finger we can send money and messages.. play games and solve puzzles.. convey congratulations and condolences.. shop and send.. BUT let's not forget the devil called Alzheimer's that is become rampant! Cases in India are on the rise because we are imprisoned in our mobile phones and our levels of human interaction are diminishing rapidly!
Social interaction tonight is essential and imperative for good mental and emotional health.. so do make it a point to actually make the effort to GO to the bank.. vegetable market.. grocery store.. place of worship.. and do things in the REAL world instead of the world of VIRTUAL reality! My mother passed away after a long battle with FTD (Frontal & Temporal Dementia).. and my neurologist told me brother and me that if the average population is at risk of getting it since it is gene driven (but not genetic).. we are at a.much higher risk of 2.6 to 2.7x! And THAT my dear readers and friends is why I urge you to be as "hands on" as possible and do the things you need to do.. instead of being a slave to your phone!
Friends are an essential component of my life and will always be on priority! My mobile is a convenience and a means to an end but certainly not an end in itself.. I am no longer going to run the minute it rings.. will answer it when I can do so comfortably.. Now that I have lost both my parents I take the liberty of switching off my mobile during my afternoon siesta.. nobody else is so important that I should sacrifice my sleep for them..
If you need me.. I am a phone call away.. but it would be wonderful if you could just come over and spend time talking to me.. so use your phone as a tool or means of communicating a message.. but let's make the effort it takes to meet face to face and sustain the beautiful friendship that we share.. When we are with each other.. there's never the tension that the "battery" of friendship will ever run low!!
