We are living in a fast-paced world due to advancements in technology. Before, communication is very expensive. When you want to talk to your loved one who is living abroad, you have to pay for an overseas phone call, which costs tons. Another option is to send your loved one a snail mail, which is the least expensive but will take months for him/her to receive, and for you to have a return letter.
It is true that due to these innovations, our lives become more convenient. We can communicate directly with our relatives and friends with just a tap of our fingertips. We not only can send messages but also talk to them in real-time, with videos (and filters)!
Today, we can buy anything by logging into various online shopping apps (add to cart mo na yan. hehe). Technology came in handy especially during the pandemic when most offices and schools are closed. The form of communication is through different platforms like Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.
Yes, truly technology made great advances and convenience in human history, however, on the other side of the coin, this convenient life becomes complicated in a sense.
How can convenience become complex?
Because we live in in a fast-paced world, looking at our cellphones from the moment of waking up to eating, to dressing up, to studying, or to perform our job for the day, we sometimes neglect to pause, and stop for a while, and observe and smell the flowers.
Sure, there might not be any flower or plant in where you're currently located, but what I mean is to pause for a while, have a break, close your eyes, and refrain from using your gadgets.
One of the things that I learned when I was studying for my master's degree is about "nomophobia" or the fear of getting detached from your mobile phone. It is a psychological condition when one totally depends on their gadget, that when they aren't able to use or hold this gadget, they become so uneasy. There is a feeling of FOMO or fear of missing out.
I was born when technology is still in its early onset. I am not sure if there are already cellular phones during the time I was born, but I know one thing for sure, I've just learned how to use the internet when I was in my 3rd-year high school, and I was not very confident in doing it. So, having lived a life without too much technology, to now being able to live with technology, I realize the advantages and disadvantages of it.
Having no or limited technology means having more time to use certain things that widen my imagination. When I was a kid, I usually play outside with my friends and cousins, I vividly remember when we'll go to a small lagoon and catch tadpoles, well, I don't know why but we enjoyed doing it. Before when there were no gadgets yet, my cousin would lend me Sweet Valley Kids and Sweet Valley High pocketbooks that I enjoy reading. Before without apps on phones, I listen to music through the radio and wait for my song request to be played, if I am lucky that day. These are the simple things and pleasures that made me happy. I also realized that having limited technology made me learn to be patient.
What am I trying to point out here? Am I not wanting technology? Of course not, what I just want to share is to spend some time detaching from it, it's like fasting in a sense. Free yourself from social media or from using your phone or anything tech-related and you'll realize that there are so many other things that you can still do apart from scrolling, and watching videos.
In a fast-paced world, it's okay to slow down for a while... look at the stars, look at how they shine bright, look at the clouds, listen to the sound around you, close your eyes, free yourself from thinking about what are you gonna do or eat after, just live in the moment, live in the NOW.
Try to slow down...
Thanks for reading!
