As a child the concept of calling a friend to meet, or discussing plans on your WhatsApp group to figure out what to do to avoid an evening of boredom was very foreign to us. Turning up to a friend’s house, dragging them to go cycling or play badminton, or visit every other house in the neighbourhood to reel in everyone we knew to play a friendly basketball match – these little rituals made up a huge part of my childhood. My summers were spent meeting friends as early as 10 in the morning at a pre-decided location. We went to the libraries, shared chocolate milkshakes at our local bakeries and ran back home for lunch, only to meet again to spend the evenings together. My technology free childhoods paved the way for some beautiful memories and stories, and left so much room for my imagination to thrive. Children, and not just children but even adults, are deprived of the luxury of a technology-free world in today’s generation. Gone are the memories with friends without one of them scrolling through the internet at some point. Gone are the small debates on the most stupid subjects without googling it and putting an end to what would have been a fun conversation.
As a computer science major it might seem hypocritical for me to actively criticize technology as often as I do, but the more I study the world of technological systems, the more wary I become of it, and the more nostalgic I become of the past. I’m not anti-technology, in fact our world thrives because of the technology we have developed. But as all good things must come to an end, our clean run with technology also has started stealing us of the little joys derived from fresh air and proper social interaction and communication. The solution? There might be none- we have all gotten so dependant on the technology we have surrounded ourselves with – from the AI in our academic lives, to each of our social medias in our personal lives. Having our phones or laptops, behaves like a sidekick that you cannot live without- there is not a part of the day that goes technology free.
In this gadget-swarm, the only solace I find is in my memories that prove that there was once a world that didn’t depend on icons and widgets, and that maybe there is hope that the circle of life applies to our current predicament as well. I’m sure I’m not the only person unsettled by the machine monomania, and I’m sure I’m not the only person speaking of it and against it- so the hope is that enough people will realize how unhinged and blatant our dependence on technology has become. How we need to take active steps in trying to detach ourselves from it is also an important conversation to happen. As hard as it may be, it’s time to acknowledge that our mothers might have been right- it really is that damn phone.