Mobile is a life supporter!
Nov 27, 2024
A few days ago, when I had some emotional setbacks, I bade goodbye to technology life-support, that is, the mobile phone. I drove my car out with no destinations in mind. I discarded my SIM card! You must be thinking how insanely possible this was. One can't imagine opting for disconnection from a mobile phone if one is to choose the option between cutting one’s leg and disconnecting the phone. I was determined to cut the connection from the virtual world, but I misunderstood: when you discontinue with the virtual world. That meant disconnection from the so-called real world.
I knew the first challenge I would face was the route if I had a predetermined destination. Today, even if one has some idea about the route, he still needs Google Maps. Everyone is confused about whether any other shorter and easier route with no traffic congestion is available than the familiar route. We believe Google can predict the easiest route and inform us of traffic problems or obstacles on the road. Even a god can't do this job! Everyone depends on Google Maps for all travelling purposes. Most of the time, our reliance on Google Maps creates trouble; sometimes,that culminates in accidents. Yet we trust Google Maps for our travel.
Anyway, even though there were difficulties, I was fighting with the habit that I had created. Frequent peeping on WhatsApp was another habit. Even after I deleted WhatsApp from my phone, I was fighting the inducement of searching for WhatsApp messages without realising that I deleted the app while experiencing heavy mood swings!
The next challenge I faced was how to reach Indore before dusk. I had to book a hotel if I needed to stay overnight; otherwise, I would have to sleep in the car, which I had never done and never knew how to be comfortable in. I forgot to carry my sleeping bag in a hurry. I was curious whether some people might have called me, feeling tense about not having a connection, even though I was aware that no one would have rung me since I had already taken a back seat in business. Somehow, I managed to get a hotel room, going directly to the Radisson. I had a better sleep. Even though I had accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, I resist visiting all the social media sites as frequently as an average user does. So, I had no further tension about what was happening in the virtual world.
In the morning, I somehow contacted a friend in Indore, Rajiv. He came to the hotel and picked me up to sit in a dhaba. We enjoyed a nice meal in Indore. The next challenge arose: to pay online, I needed a phone and net connection. I kept some cash with me so that I could manage.
I had bought a flight ticket and visa for Vietnam, but I realised that while deleting the app, I deleted everything, including all my writings. By the next evening, I realised that without at least a SIM card, I couldn't move an inch. I couldn’t book my favourite hotel, and I couldn’t contact anyone if I got stuck somewhere. I couldn’t do any transactions, as all my banking supports were registered on my mobile. I couldn’t read news updates.
The next day I lost my determination and took a new SIM to at least have a way to do something if I got stuck anywhere. I activated only the SIM and Google Maps, and I continued my travel. I visited Udaipur and roamed around. I went to Jodhpur, where there was flooding, so I stayed at a hotel for three days. Of course, Rajasthan is a beautiful place, but it is still less developed with narrow roads and a haven for birds. Everywhere there was flooding. Since the weather was not favourable, I decided to return.
I drove back to Indore and stayed there. After twelve days, I took my SIM card and reinserted it, as I was facing problems, basically for banking. By the time I replaced the SIM and activated WhatsApp and everything, I realised a fact: no one was aware of my absence from the real and virtual worlds, including my best friends and neighbours.
If we do not tell the world every morning that we are alive through social media, the world will consider us dead. We are no one without the device and cannot live a day without it.
SAJIKUMAR
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