masterwordsmith-unplugged

Frankly, the past three days have been a nightmare for me. For far too long, I had been such an internet and blog addict. It was only when I was cut off from the rest of the world that I woke up to the stark reality of how much I depended on technology and suffered from severe withdrawal symptoms with no internet access.

As many of you know already, I live a very simple life and I rarely go out except to meet former students and trusted friends. In such a reclusive environment, I depend so much on the internet to feed my desire for knowledge in selected topics of interest (not so much local news which to me is far too depressing) and to keep in touch with my dear friends and relatives who live abroad. In the three days without the internet, my mobile bill will be a bomb for next month because of the many calls I had to make since I cannot e-mail or skype as usual.

That really set me thinking about the effect of technology on people's lives.

Ironically, in my business communication & presentation courses in college, this was one of my pet topics and I never really considered its emotional impact until now. The stress in trying to get through to 100 or 1300 88 9515 or 1300 888 123, to be put on hold, and then calling again because I got automatically cut off(in total I made 18 reports in 3 days) and then to call again only to relive the nightmare...and then waiting for the technicians to appear and then they don't and then to call again. Thank goodness they finally came today, bless the two helpful and patient gentlemen. You cannot imagine the uneasiness, frustration and internet deprivation feelings that drove me up the wall. Now, when I look at myself in the mirror, it almost seems as though my hair has turned curlier and frizzier ;-).

Of course, I cannot deny that technology has improved speed in communication, provided ease and convenience, lowered costs, overcome geographical boundaries and provided medical breakthroughs and helped to facilitate the development of different industry, but at the same time, we must realize how technology has displaced people in jobs and put pressure for many to respond quickly to emails (thereby increasing undue stress) or to delete mails without reading them (thereby increasing misunderstandings or miscommunication) if the mail box is too full of spam and junk mail.

I thought about what Antares wrote in his comment to my post on Another Agonising Day and it is true...while I live a very comfortable and simple life at home, with little stress, it is during the three internetless and phoneless days of my life that I was very productive at home - I accomplished many 'projects' that I gave myself :-). I know - I am very hyperactive - even as a kid - and I must always do something, learn something and I would not at all be surprised if I die one day with a book in my hand or my head on the pc keyboard.

My mind wandered to the days of my grandmother and parents. How on earth did they survive without the net? No wonder their culinary skills were superb. They did not have to google a phrase or word to discover why their cake did not rise or why the dish did not seem right and all they had were their two hands and experience. If it did not work, try it again and again until it did. Without the intrusive effects of technology and internet access, people used to visit each other more, or to use snail mail - thus the personal touch was longlasting and significant.

Undeniably, technological progress has caused me to be quite impatient. If there is anything I am not sure of, with the click of a mouse, I can get a reasonable answer or at least a lead to the answer. That speed of communication permeated my life in such a subtle way that I did not realize how impatient I had become. To exacerbate matters, it seems that the rest of society and industry seem to exalt this instant gratification philosophy with 3-in-One concoctions and instant noodles, instant popcorn etc. Fuses become shorter and tempers flare more easily - a common sight in restaurants and in commercial centers. So then, have we become better with all the progress that we enjoy? I think not. The quality of life may have improved in certain ways but not the way we live...not on the deeper level.

I work efficiently and quite quickly because time is precious to me. There is so much to do each day, so much to learn, to read, to write, to tell and really - my list is endless. From the moment I wake up each day, it is go go go go go until the moment I fall asleep. Mentally, my mind works very fast and I get so many ideas of what to do etc. that my hubby always says that he cannot keep up with me...and today, when I lamented about my withdrawal symptoms, he sighed and said wisely, "Patience is not one of your virtues." How true! Certainly, we live in an instant world now in terms of expectations and many other aspects of life.

A few months ago, I wrote a post about how mankind is regressing and during this time, I know that is even more true. I see it in so many aspects of life and even in my own. Composers needed no Mac book pro to compose their symphonies or concertos. Yes, I am very strange. Other women in my age group would be dreaming about the latest Rolex watch or LV handbag but madam here dreams of the granddaddy of computing - the 17-inch Mac book pro and the Google phone...even typing their brand names gives me this adrenalin rush...Sigh...when my hubby asked me what I wanted for my 25th anniversary present, I stupidly said - nothing - happiness, health and a lifetime of happiness with him and my kids - Why did I not ask for a google phone? But that is me. Self-sufficient and independent.

While clearing my cupboards yesterday, I came across a huge box of mementos from my former students and friends - it was filled with thank-you cards, aerogrammes, letters and other birthday cards, farewell cards, Teachers' Day cards. Overcome with much emotion at the memory of it all, I thought of what it is like today. We keep in touch via Facebook, send each other virtual gifts, visit each other's pets in Pet Society and use so many applications to keep in touch.

Where is the personal touch then?

That is largely the impact of technology.

I am not going to condemn technology because I depend so much on far too many gadgets for my own sanity :-). But one thing is for sure - I have to be very careful that technology does not rule my life. Interestingly, one of my blog readers who sympathized with my internetless plight emailed me and in his usual tongue-in-cheek style wrote:

Could this be a classed as a recognisable medical disability do you think? Should counselling be provided,to the afflicted,by the ISP? Should friends send the equivalent of a "get well soon" card........."Hope you are connected soon" card or something similar.

Actually, he is really a wise man. Internet addiction has become quite serious. You cannot imagine the atmosphere in my home. I could not blog. My older boy could not check his exam results, could not play DOTA, could not chat with his girlfriend while my younger boy was in a state of panic as he could not surf the net for his research to do his school project (I had already told him, as I always do to everyone, not to leave things to the last minute), my hubby could not read the news in his favorite websites....Oh - it was quite awful indeed.

One day, when my kids have all grown up, I want to retreat from where I am...to live in my dream home....It could be a place like Santubong - overlooking the sea, a quiet place in the jungle where I do not hear traffic or music blaring from a neighbour's home or someone's home theatre system at full volume for the rest of the neighbourhood to know what they are watching.

I want a quiet place ...a simple rustic home...as long as there is electricity, food and water supply and most importantly internet connection, not forgetting my books - there, I will grow....Much as I lament the negative impact of technology on our lives and the way we communicate, I cannot deny that for me - I cannot live without technology or internet access. How about you?