Mechanised lives

I remember having this conversation with one of my seniors, a few days back, who expressed discontent and concern over the fact that technology has absolutely taken over our lives.

All of this came from an individual who belonged to a generation that was greatly shocked by the increased penetration of computers and associated gadgets in their professional and personal lives, which greatly replaced conventional typewriters, pen and paper, hence almost forcing them to reinvent their thinking, actions and personalities, in short their entire lifestyle.

She was of the opinion that all of us have started believing in gadgets to such an extent, that we categorise their reliability factor as almost invincible and indispensable in our lives. I personally think that’s true. Just take a look the world around us; online applications, virtual monetary accounts, saving our important documents in our email boxes, and even adhering greatly to the internet for the promotion of businesses, points out in the direction that the user has invested an unshakable trust.

Being an avid admirer of the enhancements induced by the continued advances in technology in our lives, I agree to a greater extent that our lives have become mechanised, but at the same time I would here like to say that if this in fact is the case, it is all part of being human, and doing what we do best, evolve.

However, just a small occurrence that I would like to share here; there was this Facebook page that I was using to garner support for protests, which were to be held in Karachi, against the Sialkot lynching incident. One of the administrators of the group wrote that individuals who think that by joining the page they have fulfilled there ‘social responsibility’ should rethink, as the purpose of the group was to ensure ‘physical’ rather than ‘online’ presence.

Though, evolution has brought us to a point where our online identities possess a symbolic value, as the greatest gift of technology has turned out to be ‘connectivity’ lately, I think this gift should be valued and not be abused.