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Sunday 31 January 2016

Castaway! - with/without Internet?


Look who is writing? A blogger on a topic called 'A world without Internet.' Ironic jest it is. But, is it not possible to exist without Internet connection? Now, that we are used to everything that Internet offers, our response always tends to be a 'No'. But, life in the yester-years did exist without Internet. And probably then, life was more peaceful. Our grand-parents can corroborate this statement.

Generation-gap, as we call it, probably also stems partly by Internet, partly by hunger for identity and partly by westernisation. Our grand-parents find us always on TV, mobile, tablets and laptops while they spent their youth in playing 'real' games, doing physical activities, spending 'real' time with family and friends and doing household chores. This gave rise to values and principles towards being cultural, religious and a family oriented-person. But, today's men and women are more career-oriented, spending time with friends and family is more of a waste of their time and resources, and every man and woman who has an aspiration to make his/her career is hungry for identity. 

As a result, we have taken refuge in Internet. 
  • Wake up in the morning, check your Whats-App, Facebook and the innumerable social networking sites as a dreary routine.
  • We need a food recipe, Google it. On a second thought, do we think of calling up our parents or in-laws?
  • We need quick tips on child-care. Google it.
  • We need answers for some questions on a particular topic of study. Google it.
  • We need to buy some groceries, apparel, spectacles, jewelries, visit an online store.
And the list goes on. This has reduced our 'real' time with the world. 

Now let us imagine that we have no Internet for probably a year. I surmise, that our life would be as follows:
  • Wake up in the morning, take sometime to awaken yourself, probably make a small prayer.
  • Get to the kitchen, make a cup of coffee.
  • Read a newspaper.
  • Get ready and go to office. Many minutes saved as a result of not spending time on Internet.
  • Do your work 'productively'. Well, no Internet, right?
  • Get back home, spend time with your family. We start to realise that these moments are precious.
  • Have dinner talking to your family.
  • Get a good night's sleep.
  • On festivals, personally invite families for a get-together. Probably you will end up knowing a family member very well to be a friend.
  • We need a recipe, we get in touch with the nearest person we can talk to and start connecting with that person on this note.
  • On weekends, get out for an outing with friends/family or get out for shopping.
  • Also, we can reduce the youth getting access to 'unethical' sites and turning into reprobates!
And, in the end, maybe we will wonder that this is happening in 'real'. Providentially, we would have gotten better with our social skills, communication skills and would have had a lot of memories in life! It take a while to ensconce ourselves to reduce Internet usage, but it is necessary that you are not discovered in a bog of virtual life all the time!

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. This week's WOW prompt is ‘A World without Internet'.

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