I was recently surfing the channels when I came across a cooking show. Not a fan of such programs, I was about to change the channel when I noticed something strange - the chef was stirring something with one hand, trying to speak to a caller and checking his messages on his mobile with the other hand! Checking your mobile on a live TV show? I wondered what could be so important that one would forget basic etiquette and even forget that one was on a live TV show.
But he isn't alone in this mobile mania, I have seen people risk life and limb the moment an sms alert sounds. It doesn't matter if they are on a motorbike or crossing the road - sms is the new lord and master, when it beckons people will respond. But the point here is not that we need to be disciplined or that we need to understand the basic etiquette of using mobiles, the bigger question is "Why"? Why do people forget everything when they hear a message alert? Why does rationale and common sense fly out of the window?
Perhaps at the root of this insanity lie 2 primeval emotions - fear and hope. Our moments of happiness have shrunk considerably over the past few years and for millions of people around the globe and especially in Pakistan each day brings a new survival challenge. Its not just about financial challenges but the challenge of making it home safely, the challenge of dealing with the possibility that you may be safe but your family might be in danger. The challenge of dealing with helplessness in the face of corruption, the challenge of dealing with disappointments on a daily basis. Perhaps that is why when the sms alert sounds the basic fear instinct takes over and rational takes a nose dive.
Or it might be that last thing that was set free from Pandora's box - hope. The hope that a sudden unexpected good news will relieve some of our troubles. The hope that the sms will be a really funny joke which can make us smile when we can find no reasons of our own to be happy. The hope that God will work a miracle in our lives and the next sms could be an indication of that miracle.
Regardless of our reasons one thing is for sure, the person who hits the send button on their mobile for an instant controls the time of all the recipients. Such is the power of the mobile sms.
But he isn't alone in this mobile mania, I have seen people risk life and limb the moment an sms alert sounds. It doesn't matter if they are on a motorbike or crossing the road - sms is the new lord and master, when it beckons people will respond. But the point here is not that we need to be disciplined or that we need to understand the basic etiquette of using mobiles, the bigger question is "Why"? Why do people forget everything when they hear a message alert? Why does rationale and common sense fly out of the window?
Perhaps at the root of this insanity lie 2 primeval emotions - fear and hope. Our moments of happiness have shrunk considerably over the past few years and for millions of people around the globe and especially in Pakistan each day brings a new survival challenge. Its not just about financial challenges but the challenge of making it home safely, the challenge of dealing with the possibility that you may be safe but your family might be in danger. The challenge of dealing with helplessness in the face of corruption, the challenge of dealing with disappointments on a daily basis. Perhaps that is why when the sms alert sounds the basic fear instinct takes over and rational takes a nose dive.
Or it might be that last thing that was set free from Pandora's box - hope. The hope that a sudden unexpected good news will relieve some of our troubles. The hope that the sms will be a really funny joke which can make us smile when we can find no reasons of our own to be happy. The hope that God will work a miracle in our lives and the next sms could be an indication of that miracle.
Regardless of our reasons one thing is for sure, the person who hits the send button on their mobile for an instant controls the time of all the recipients. Such is the power of the mobile sms.
1 comment:
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