Our phones
At 22 years of age, I am not a very old person, or I think so to feel good. But, everyday I see how our phones have merged into our beings. Imagine someone wearing a suit, a nice Seiko watch, a grand leather briefcase and a shiny pair of Clarks asks to borrow your phone to make a call. That scenario is so unlikely that it will take a momemt or two to even realize that this dapper man, for some obscure reason, does not have a phone. Having a phone is like having a limb in this day and age. You see one without one, and you feel bad or sometimes even disgusted.
Technology has changed so much in the past few decades and phones stand testament to this. Not too long ago we had non-portable phones with cables which then changed to phones the size of bricks and then the golden era of feature phones and their 8-bit ringers. Now, we have the boring slab of a phone with a minimum of 2 cameras and a massive touchscreen to give the user the immersive experience of the digital age.
Take a seat with me
Imagine you are sitting in a busy metro train at 9AM on a Wednesday morning. Bengaluru has a pleasant breeze and overcast skies. You are listening to some new-age jazz on your earphones and you are thinking about work. Your eyes are restless and the sight of almost everyone in the metro hooked on to their phones intrigues you. “Why is it the way it is? Why are we so hung up on a slab of metal, glass and circuit boards that constantly stimulate us?”, you think to yourself. And then you realize, you are doing the same thing.
Our phones have the capability to almost everything a modern day computer can do. A metro ride is, honestly, a bore and hence stimulation isn’t too bad at times. But, we are surrounded by screens for most of our days. I am staring into one as I type this.
Occasionally, you will see a person reading a book. Or a group of friends that chatter with their phones in their pockets. These are mere observations but it seems like it becomes a choice - you can choose to do what you want at any point in time.
Our phones - a limb
Our phones can now do payments, which is a big deal because you can leave your wallet at home and still pay for your transport and meal. Our phones can now click great pictures and capture high-resolution videos, which means that you can leave your bulky camera behind on a trip. Our phones have access to unlimited 5G now, which means you do not need to search for a fast WiFi to watch YouTube. Our phones can do a lot more that our phones from the last two decades could do.
This is great to have, but the fact that we are so dependent on our phones for things like this makes having the phone at all times a priority. And hence our obsession with staring down our almost-7-inch handheld LED screens that can do almost anything we seek.
How much is too much?
The phone you own is your belonging. It contains your data. No can should be able to dictate your rights on your phone (if you paid for it). That said, we should also realize that we are often stressed out and develop minor mental health issues from our high screen times. For instance, I saw a man with two phones and earphones on, the other day on a metro ride back home. He was seated in front of me with his iPhone to text on WhatsApp and his OnePlus to watch Instagram Reels. Double stimulation. What are the odds he is stressed out in life? Pretty high I would presume. Or he could be the happiest man in the world but I guess we will never know. The point is that, we need to know where to draw the line.
I get stressed out when I open my emails or Slack. The stress of getting work done. The stress of meeting and exceeding expectations. The stress of knowing about our failing, yet somehow flourishing country. I am sure everyone can relate to this. Living in a metro city with such technology in our hands is a lot stimulation leading to a truck-load of mental pressure.
All part of the simulation
I typed all of this but guess what I will do next? I will get back to work, finish up in the evening and put on my earphones and take the metro back and stop the music on my phone only when I reach back home. As much as I want to make a change to my habits, it is quite difficult to take action. I have taken up hobbies to help me with this but, there is only so much that can help. We, as a generation, are the most connected and informed thanks to the Internet but yet we suffer from the isolation, constant stress and everything else that comes bundled in.
I think, I will keep my earphones off today. Let’s make a change, let’s keep our slabs down and talk to our people. Let us vouch to stimulate ourselves with the small things in life. Smile at the person you find cute, wave to the same person you walk by everyday, pet a street dog or take a deep breath and think about your best memories. Whatever works for you, consider doing that and find the joy in the menial things life has to offer.