Reality Check

"Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time."- Bill Gates

"If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger."-Frank Lloyd Wright

The good versus evil of technology debate has been going on long enough. And I am not denying that our dependence on technology is ridiculous. However, I have recently realized, we no longer use technology, but instead we live it.

Many times the facts of the real world share a blurry line with the inferences of the world wide web. Some people lead parallel lives in which their facebook profiles indicate the exact opposite of their worldly personalities. While others have a hard time differentiating what is appropriate for their online audience and what should be reserved for those who don't identify them as just an avatar.

Yes, I laugh at the thirteen-year old who absolutely must have the new social-media, mp3 wired cell phone. But I would be lying if I said new gadgets didn't excite me. However, that is not all. I recently wrote a poem about digital love and how the new generation feels more comfortable chatting online before having that first date. Blocking is now synonymous to ignoring someone and emoticons are the new weapons to subtle flirting.

Everyday I board my train assuming it will be a good way to sneak in a nap. However, for the first 15 minutes I browse facebook. Then, I read the daily news on NYTimes, TIME, CNN, BBC. Half-way into my ride I realize there's not enough time for my nap and so I catch up with my literature review articles. I get off the train, tired, sleepy and slightly more informed. I promise myself that the ride back will be more relaxing since I won't have a full day of classes and assignments to complete. Nonetheless, the evening commute follows the same schedule.

Being wired in isn't a luxury anymore. We expect instant replies. We submit to our curiosities. We are so desperate to be connected with each other in the virtual world, that sometimes we forget what the real world demands. A recent experience helped me realize the true worth of doing things the primitive way.

I recently mailed a birthday card to an old friend. On any occasion of modern communication, I would've expected an immediate thank you or acknowledgment of having received my generous greetings. But as I paid for my postage and walked out of the post-office a sense of calm came over me. Yes, there was still anticipation about when my wishes would reach him, but they were coupled with a satisfaction of sending something tangible. My heartfelt gesture would not just be one of the many casual fb wishes. It would not be an e-greeting lost amongst spam emails. It would not be a tribute to the greatness of cyber lords. Instead, it is a symbol of my thoughtfulness. It is a symbol of the time I spent to pick out and mail the card in today's super-fast lifestyle. It is a symbol of the few moments I spent actually thinking about my friend and his upcoming birthday. I don't believe there is any gift greater than that.

Every year, only few selected people have the privilege of receiving snail-mail from me. I certainly hope it means as much to them as it does to me. If not, it might be time to re-evaluate the reality of my world. It might not be worth detaching myself from the black-hole of technology. It might forever conclude, that the lifeless digital forms of communication have replaced true emotions. However, if that gesture still means something to my precious friends, it gives me hope that once in a while we'll check into reality and spend more time thinking about them and not their latest blog post or their fb status. It gives me hope that we'll see the world through our own eyes and not through flickr. It gives me hope that our innovations will be a medium for progress like Gates hoped and not a via point for a state of extreme laziness as claimed by Wright.

Finally, it gives me hope that these bursts of reality checks will keep me anchored to the real world, a world so beautiful that no digitalization can even come close to justifying its magnificence. A world that cannot be described with a million poems and pictures. A world that I don't have to log in and out of. A world that is mine, forever!