Love affair in cyber jungle
Love is not love which alters when alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove; O, no! it is an ever fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken.”
These beautiful lines on love by Shakespeare were meant to be read, savoured and often used by lovers across continents but in digital times, the alchemy of love has undergone a sea change.
It’s halo has not dulled but the unfathomable depth, the enigma, the all consuming passion have been swept away and replaced by techno-savvy indulgence.
Swinging from vines and shrieking ‘Me Tarzan You Jane’ became passé as the green cover shriveled and concrete jungle took over. Concrete Jungle had balconies, terraces to exchange glances for the home bound adolescents with raging hormones; parks, promenades and dark movie theatres for the reckless and adventurous lovers, daring to be seen in the open, without fear of being spotted by nosey neighbours or relatives.
Love was shy and syrupy, giddy and fizzy, slow and lingering, edifying and spiritual, with a hint of torture and self effacement; the lovers took a long time to express, to impress, promising undying love and staying together till death or a villainous member of the family parted them.
A devoted lover of an era gone by comes to mind, who had been so much under the influence of Cupid that she had forgotten to clean her room. Obviously, consumed by love, she didn’t pay much attention to hygienic surroundings.
She would sit for hours, moping on her study table, with a book open for deception, her mind drenched in the elixir of love. In a fit of anger at her daughter’s inertia and distracted mind, her mother dusted and cleaned her room, making it sparkle. That spring cleaning session spelled doom for the poor lass. The phone number of her heart throb had been erased, wiped out from the dusty desk. Fate had made a clean sweep in her case.
Nevermore! It’s the 21st century. Love is definitely not in the fleeting meeting of glances from luminous eyes any more, that makes the heart miss a beat and spout poetry or pent up emotions in film songs. Love, with it’s bits and bytes , is WiFi enabled, swift and slim fit in terms of words. The need to have an impressive vocabulary is not desirable when acronyms and emoticons can fill in for romance.
India has taken a quantum leap in terms of digital communication. There are approximately 97.8 billion mobiles and 14 billion smart phones, making us a nation in love with the idea of love. The mobile phone has made love accessible in the deepest dungeons, sordid slums, brightest arenas, glitzy malls, and cafés . The lovers have an obsession for texting. It’s the fastest fingers and a multi tasking wired mind that creates fizz and froth called love that is standardized, well packaged and stylish in the cyber jungle.
FOMO, i.e., Fear Of Missing Out on everything that is hot and happening is the current aberration. Lost in the virtual world, the lovers are looking for validation by getting liked by a larger number in social networking sites. Big is bliss!
Monogamy is regarded as monotony. Fidelity is scary. Relationships need not be time tested and lovers are not on the look out for permanence. Being in and out of relationships is a pointer to a healthy and robust social life. Commitments may not last. No one seems to mind the transience in emotions.
A digital detox will be needed soon for we will be an emotionally anaemic nation, on a virtual high of aspirations, anxieties and abysmally low on emotional quotient.
Building bridges of sanity and bringing down chaotic walls of megalomania that proliferate in the cyber jungle is the need of the hour.
In short, the mantra for love to survive in cyber jungle is simple. Amplify love. Don’t Appify it!