TAKE A CALL… IT’S ABOUT TIME

Ibelong to an era when phones were just that – phones. They were not multitasking super machines dominating every aspect of our awake time, but efficient ones that served one particular purpose – making calls. So, when I see people hunched over their mobile phones and overworking their thumbs liking, hashtagging and commenting on statuses and posts, I judge. I judge their bubble-wrap existence that is devoid of experiencing life’s simple pleasures. For instance, they will never know what fun it is to people-watch while sipping the perfect brew at a roadside café, or witness parrots squabble over a spot on a palm tree in Safa Park, or scream their lungs out at their favourite singer’s concert. I pity them for all those times when the bright lights of their phones had their undivided attention.

Those who live their lives through MOBILE PHONES will never know the fun of PEOPLE-WATCHING while sipping the perfect BREW at a café, or witness parrots SQUABBLE over a SPOT on a tree in Safa Park

To me, their phone has robbed them of their lives and left them with a vacuum that is evident in their glazed over eyes. They no longer know what it is like to have social lives that don’t include the social media. Their abilities to build real friendships, negotiate and resolve situations and overcome obstacles have rusted completely, all thanks to being obsessed with their virtual lives.

Twenty-three-year-old Charlotte Michaels, in the feature ‘Are selfies wrecking relationships?’ on page 34, is a case in point. She has been so busy taking selfies that she has missed out on meeting her real friends, who have now decided to move on, leaving her alone to rue over the debris of her fractured relationships.

For all who live their lives through their phones, all I have to say is, happiness does not come with a hashtag as a prefix but lies in real experiences and real living.

Tell me what you think. Until next week,