Paradox of Technology- The Edge or the Wedge

It is often remarked that technology has brought the world closer and this is something that cannot be refuted. A couple of decades ago, making a telephone call to somebody in another country, much less another continent, was outside the ordinary person’s normal activities; such calls could be placed only by corporate executives on business account, or by the extremely wealthy with money to burn. I remember that in my childhood in India , long distance calls to or from other cities in the country would be few and far between, and were considered appropriate only in domestic emergencies, of the good and the bad kind. Calls to or from other countries were as good as calls to another world, and were regarded as status symbols, to be flaunted in front of less fortunate, awe-struck neighbors.

Today with the information and communication revolution, getting in touch with people on the other side of the globe has become commonplace. There is a mind-boggling selection of communication modes, starting from telephones and internet chat to video conferencing and messaging. The relatives and friends who were eons away are suddenly available at the click of a button or a mouse and the world has truly become a global village.

There is, however, the flip side to this communication extravaganza. The computer and mobile phone blitzkrieg has intensified the concept of personal space and time, to the extent that people today seem lost in their cocoons of mobile minutes and email space. If you need to invite your neighbor for dinner you no longer walk across to speak to them, you email them. The friendly picket fences, which were traditional venues for neighborly friendship building, have lost out to the telephone and the email. In less developed times, we would painstakingly create Christmas and other festival cards; today, most of us send e-cards which do not even require a personal signature. In the office, even small bits of information which can be verbally communicated are sent by e-mail. When we can get all our information and communication done electronically, where is the need for personal communication? It is no longer necessary to stay connected with other people- it is more than adequate to be connected to the internet and to our mobile network!

The personal disconnect sometimes takes on bizarre forms. My daughter was speaking the other day about a lady who sends mobile messages to her children, who are closeted in their rooms, announcing that dinner is ready. Or take the instance of another family, where two sisters sit in their separate rooms and communicate on internet chat.

One really wonders- yes, technology has brought people living far away very much closer, but has it also driven people who were earlier close to each other, far apart?