The spectacular shot from the sci-fi flick “Transformers”, which juxtaposes a gigantic robot with a five year old child , not only makes the hideous assortment of metal look adorable, but also raises an esoteric question to one’s mind. Isn’t the exact antithesis of this fantasy slowly enveloping our conscience? The craving for sophisticated gadgets and the endeavour to make them identify more with our emotional states pose the grim threat of heralding a new generation of anthropoids who are virtuoso at handling wired metal but are naïve at nurturing fundamental human relationships.
Social animal , as a human is called, his whole existence fosters on the affectionate relationships that he creates around himself. Hence anything that enables us to increase this circle of joy is extremely attractive to us . Thus, the proliferation of networking sites, innovative means of communication and the whole gamut of technological progress centered around helping us connect with more people. Yet all the hullabaloo comes a cropper because in the effort to simplify the premise of human relationships, the basic recipe is overlooked: mutual affection.
The e-relationships are based on the intrigue of satisfying one’s craving for companionship without much cogitation for the source of our fulfillment(maybe owing to their multiplicity). The bonhomie shared is hopelessly shallow owing to acute lack of the main ingredient of a happy relationship: spending quality time with your beloved.
And the foible that e-relationships are very rarely built on the pedestal of core human values like commitment, sacrifice , understanding , to name a few, only render them derelict and unfulfilling.
Yet the irony exists. Though in the course of time , we do begin to suffer the problem of plenty , yet these pseudo-friendships remain popular. Probably because the e-relationships we make on the web grant us the facility to walk out on people once the initial zing is over. A click is all it takes to shut the door out on someone’s face in the virtual world : an act whose execution in the real world demands a lot more cold enterprise and involves a lot more acrimony.
Hence a large populace spends more time socialising on the web via the social-networking sites like orkut, than with the peers of the same school or college or with colleagues at the workplace . The number of ‘friends’ we have on our account serves as an index of our acceptance in the world we live in. While one might imagine this to be the real world where we breathe, but in actuality these friends that we artificially garner belong only to the virtual world. Where the whole edifice loses its credibility and enters the realm of dubiousness is when the dichotomy between the two worlds is obliviated . The unfortunate individual who mistakes his e-acquaintances as his invaluable friends is engulfed in a quagmire of sullen discontent and melancholy.
Is this an indicator of the things to come, a premonition of an impending doom; a doom which inters the very soul, suffocating its
craving to be understood. If one were to turn back the pages of history , heuristics would show us that in the
an abject disdain for commitment in a relationship. The glut of products inducing the individual to treat the people around him as commodities : a peril we must guard ourselves against.
The spanking pace at which technology is changing the core values which one abides by must be veered before we morph into a species which loves to speak and possess from the species for which
to listen and to sacrifice spell joy.
The funny part is : technology can send radio-waves from the moon to the earth but
can’t decipher the eloquence of the silent gaze that two soul-mates share. Brain-waves , anyone?
No comments:
Post a Comment