Let’s talk again, lest we forget how
“One day, technology will breed a generation of idiots.” A quote from Albert Einstein, one of the finest minds thw world has known.
QUITE an astute statement, I reckon, when you look at how technology has taken over our lives.
What has happened to all of us at the dinner table – talking about our day and having a good laugh?
Destroyed by the cellphone, which is a permanent attachment to even nanima. She doesn’t need a side plate. Oh no! Where’s her cellphone? That little gadget that is permanently attached to most of us, and that has taken over our lives.
You can’t sleep at night because another country has just woken up and it’s daytime for them, and they need to chat to you, e-mail you, WhatsApp you, Google you or Skype you.
You are no longer in charge of your life. Technology has taken over. Deal with it, because it’s here to stay!
Your business hours are now 24/7. Have you thought of the impact on your well-being? No? Perhaps you should. The stress of being “on call” 24/7 might seem exciting, even amazing at first, but the effect of being on call takes its toll on your health and mental well-being.
Every single breathing being (human or animal) needs rest. Decide on your time of rest and switch the phone off. It will still be there in the morning and you will probably be in a better frame of mind to deal with things. But if you develop stress and depression, you’ll burn out and become useless. That little gadget is injurious to your health.
Facebook… everyone’s stories for the world to see. Worse, Snapchat photographs that enhance your looks and make you beautiful, sexy, top shelf !
Grow up, your mirror does not lie. Rejoice in what you have. Youth does not remain forever. Sure, have fun, but don’t let it consume your life. The curry can’t burn because you were responding to a Facebook or WhatsApp message. What example are you setting?
It disturbs me that my threeyear-old granddaughter loves YouTube so much, to the point that she calls it MyTube.
However, while I believe she is getting a lot of good information and learning from it, she is only given an hour a day to spend on it. The rest of the time she must play with her toys and outside. Yes, outside! We teach her games like hopscotch, kicking a ball around, hide and seek, etc.
She loves them, but for most of us, because we want to be left alone with our tablet or cellphone, it’s easier to just hand over the tablet and keep the child entertained that way.
Google has taken over from the dictionary – even doctors. If you are ill, no need for the doctor. Oh no! Just Google it.
Nine out of 10 times the information you receive puts your blood pressure up and has you running to the specialist because Google told you you had pneumonia. But it was just a bad common cold.
Not everything you read on Google is true. It is a great source of information, but it gets tricky when you think that Google is a person with a logical mind who can solve your problems. It is not.
It is a program designed to help you, not to take over from the professionals.
The Worldwide Web is also notorious for fake news. Use the technology, but use your brain to decipher what is true and what is not. Don’t share and forward news that could be harmful. Many of these fake news items incite violence and encourage hate. Be wise and stay away from it.
Lastly, a romantic dinner for me does not involve technology. If my husband/boyfriend was to take me to a restaurant and engaged in cellphone activity, it would be goodbye even before the waiter approached for my order. We need time to talk to each other. We don’t need a cellphone to do this. There is nothing more discouraging than seeing young people together, but apart because of their cellphones.
I love this restaurant I came across in Geneva, Switzerland, which has the following saying: “Cellphones not allowed… Here we talk directly to one another.”
I have taken my life back and I switch off at 9pm every night until 7.30 the next morning. I sometimes miss a call, but I will call back. Let’s start talking again – before we forget how.