Wake up. Go to the loo. Plonk on the bed with the mobile phone. Multiple screams from mother go ignored. Check all the accounts across various social media platforms. The final call for breakfast arrives. Get up and brush the teeth. Eat the breakfast. Pick up a news daily. Check the phone before settling down to catch up with the latest news. The rest of the day passes with frequent breaks to check the phone. To be precise, the breaks are exclusively reserved for checking WhatsApp, Facebook, mails, and Instagram, among other things. Well, that's what my routine consists of, when the internet is working.
There are times when this routine is disrupted, although, not very often. They are the times when there lacks a secure internet connection. And those days seem like the worst of the nightmares. Recently, the WiFi connection in my house had lapsed for one entire day. Yes, you heard it right, one entire day. As someone who mostly relies on WiFi connections, a mobile data pack is rarely availed of. Contrary to the tone expressed in the previous sentences, the beginning of the day without internet was pleasant. Surprisingly, I did a lot of things that wouldn't have been possible to do, alongside the constant buzzing of the phone. For the first time in a long while, I looked around my messy room and realized that I had the last opportunity to save my room from looking like a godown that stocked all the trash one could possibly find in a room. Hey, I've never felt more productive than when I finished the herculean task of cleaning up my godown-like messy room! Constant struggles to fix the dormant internet connection were on, all through the while, without any success. There is a vast difference between voluntarily choosing to turn off the internet to avoid distraction and not having access to internet, and thus having to make do without it. It is at this point that I realise how I may be missing out on some important mails and messages, and I simultaneously start feeling disconnected from all the goings-on around me. And it is also these very moments that trigger a quest for occasional detachment. In the meanwhile, various books were browsed through. Also, I began scrolling down my contact list with the hope of talking to people I've not been in touch with. Voila, I manage to surprise a couple of contacts with the gesture!
Today, we live in an era where almost half of the world's population makes use of the internet on a daily basis. I wonder how the older generations saw people live a life without television, mobile phones, and refrigerators, let alone an internet connection. Late afternoon, I sat my grandmother down to know what life was like, in her heydays. I couldn't help but feel enchanted while my grandmother shared some anecdotes from her life and reminisced about how a big family always found enough ways to remain amused and entertained. My evening plans of watching a movie, online, were substituted with a visit to the Juhu beach. The beauty of the sunset, which I have heard of more than I have witnessed, was experienced in all its glory. The gentle ocean waves, cool zephyrs, and the sand castles seemed to quickly fill all the empty spaces in my life, and everything felt just perfect.
Something seemed amiss when I headed back home. As it turned out, I hadn't touched my phone in a long time. Just like how an empty house lacks value, my phone, on that particular day, seemed empty and worthless. I frantically made a few calls at my internet provider's office, just to know that I would have to wait until the next morning to get my internet connection fixed. Honestly, no problem or obstacle in my life has ever seemed as grave and severe as the one I was facing, when I was cut off from the digital world. I planned to buy a mobile data pack, the next morning. The plan didn't materialise as I woke up to an active WiFi connection, the next morning. It felt like the most pleasant start to the day. There is a saying that goes as 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder,' and in my case, this statement couldn't have meant more.
There are times when this routine is disrupted, although, not very often. They are the times when there lacks a secure internet connection. And those days seem like the worst of the nightmares. Recently, the WiFi connection in my house had lapsed for one entire day. Yes, you heard it right, one entire day. As someone who mostly relies on WiFi connections, a mobile data pack is rarely availed of. Contrary to the tone expressed in the previous sentences, the beginning of the day without internet was pleasant. Surprisingly, I did a lot of things that wouldn't have been possible to do, alongside the constant buzzing of the phone. For the first time in a long while, I looked around my messy room and realized that I had the last opportunity to save my room from looking like a godown that stocked all the trash one could possibly find in a room. Hey, I've never felt more productive than when I finished the herculean task of cleaning up my godown-like messy room! Constant struggles to fix the dormant internet connection were on, all through the while, without any success. There is a vast difference between voluntarily choosing to turn off the internet to avoid distraction and not having access to internet, and thus having to make do without it. It is at this point that I realise how I may be missing out on some important mails and messages, and I simultaneously start feeling disconnected from all the goings-on around me. And it is also these very moments that trigger a quest for occasional detachment. In the meanwhile, various books were browsed through. Also, I began scrolling down my contact list with the hope of talking to people I've not been in touch with. Voila, I manage to surprise a couple of contacts with the gesture!
Today, we live in an era where almost half of the world's population makes use of the internet on a daily basis. I wonder how the older generations saw people live a life without television, mobile phones, and refrigerators, let alone an internet connection. Late afternoon, I sat my grandmother down to know what life was like, in her heydays. I couldn't help but feel enchanted while my grandmother shared some anecdotes from her life and reminisced about how a big family always found enough ways to remain amused and entertained. My evening plans of watching a movie, online, were substituted with a visit to the Juhu beach. The beauty of the sunset, which I have heard of more than I have witnessed, was experienced in all its glory. The gentle ocean waves, cool zephyrs, and the sand castles seemed to quickly fill all the empty spaces in my life, and everything felt just perfect.
Something seemed amiss when I headed back home. As it turned out, I hadn't touched my phone in a long time. Just like how an empty house lacks value, my phone, on that particular day, seemed empty and worthless. I frantically made a few calls at my internet provider's office, just to know that I would have to wait until the next morning to get my internet connection fixed. Honestly, no problem or obstacle in my life has ever seemed as grave and severe as the one I was facing, when I was cut off from the digital world. I planned to buy a mobile data pack, the next morning. The plan didn't materialise as I woke up to an active WiFi connection, the next morning. It felt like the most pleasant start to the day. There is a saying that goes as 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder,' and in my case, this statement couldn't have meant more.
Beautiful bageshree, really enjoyed reading it:-)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bageshree, really enjoyed reading it:-)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Sumaali! Glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteBageshree ...it's very authentic sharing in your blog.
ReplyDeleteBageshree ...it's very authentic sharing in your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot! Appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteInternet is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhile videos like "look up" are getting popular, I stand to say, just like you, that the internet is nothing but a blessing.
It's power is immensely awesome, I could write an entire blog post, hehe.
Though it bothers me as well, that the idea of being in your phone all the time and not exploring the "real world" is not that good.
I'm thankful to AR games like Pokémon GO though, who have been greatly successful in merging the real and virtual worlds in such a way that more friends are made 😸
I myself am trying to master the art of switching smoothly between both the worlds, cause there are very beneficial things about both of them - be it real or virtual. I think the art of switching between them without any thought/effort will be what'll make this generation sorted 😉
As much as the internet is thought of as a boon to our lives, the excess usage of the same is backfiring us in ways that would affect our lives in the long run. I cannot deny the ready availability of content the Internet provides at the touch of a finger; but, in a bid to gain all the possible information and knowledge, don't you think we are compromising on something known as self-learning. Most of us hardly even know the concept of self-learning, all thanks to Internet. For all the good that the invent of Internet has done, it has severely taken a toll on our personal lives. We need to master the art of balancing the use of Internet, or else, we shall become slaves to something that we created for the greater good.
DeleteThe art of self-learning by taking advantage of the internet is very awesome. People who know this art tend to be very awesome and extremely wise at what they do 😉
DeleteThe art of self-learning by taking advantage of the internet is very awesome. People who know this art tend to be very awesome and extremely wise at what they do 😉
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