When will it end?

No, this is not an article that discusses the so- called impending disaster of 2012 as predicted by Mayan calendars. Even after this your interested, continue reading.

Tea time in IT services firm is a great way to exchange stories ranging across a wide plethora of topics. Some whacky, some perverted (if your supervisor is not sharing the table) to the occasional delusional. But once in a while the group consists of a deep thinker, someone who’s trying to emotionally dissect a situation. This individual has particularly undergone an epiphany of sorts in the past which has in a way impacted his line of thought.

While we engineers or developers are rambling away as to how the advent of social media has impacted our lives, this person merely observes albeit dispassionately. At a pivotal point in the conversation, our messiah interjects & states ‘‘When will this end?”. This sudden flight from the technical to the metaphysical catches us off guard & we ask the culprit to reiterate on his retort. He merely states, that when will we this dependence on technology end.

Others in the group sighed & moved on as none had a convincing thread of thoughts to rely upon. As for me, time stopped & my thoughts ran from the documentary on ‘The No Impact Man’ to John Meyer’s digital cleanses. I looked at my cell, a state-of-the-art smart phone & realized how dependent I was on it. Moving back to my desk, I operated my ipod, another item I rarely leave my house without, I realized maybe we are a bit too connected to these bag of chips.

Another colleague of mine, an avid biker & outdoor sports fanatic read my thoughts & squarely pointed out “Can you even last 7 days without these gadgets?” I was shocked by his psychic abilities & wondered he probably followed the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ way. But that retort did make me realize the grain of truth in his words.

Let’s take a step back & examine the world today around us. We live in a world which actually operates on the principle of ‘15 minutes of fame’. An event occurring in an obscure part of the globe becomes a subject of discussion in a matter of minutes from Boston to Budapest. Tweets, scraps, status messages & LOLs have become an everyday phenomenon. Businesses have recognized the potential of this open-social platform & plan to leverage the same to meet their business ends.

Donald Norman, a prominent product designer in his book ‘Emotional Design’ states that there exist 3 stages of the human mind. Visceral, Behavioral & Reflective. Each serving a definitive purpose in the process of reaction to circumstances or our actions in situations. Today badges redirecting one to the leading social networks has become synchronous as a ‘status symbol’. Any site selling either tomatoes or tires, might not have a robust sales history but will definitely have a “Follow us on Twitter” or “Fan us on Facebook” badge. This is the extent to which we have social media integrated with aspects of our life.

Its interesting to notice that nearly 20 years ago majority of the world guarded their emotions, alliances & secrets lest they spark a war. But today, thanks to these media, we were the same proudly on our sleeves. This transition does have its upsides, in areas were free speech is oppressed, more then once such systems have worked in the favor of getting the word of the victims out.

Getting back to the issue at hand, the answer in itself is not a straight forward one. One can compare & realize that this situation is similar to those faced by the West in terms of the haves & have-nots. Let me explain.

A billionaire probably cant do without his gold plated watch, custom suits & private jet. We can then conclude that he is addicted to these. He then opts to disconnect & lead a life interlaced with simplicity & prudence. While across the Atlantic, a youngster is striving to achieve these very comforts. Now, extrapolate the scenario to social media!

We have got an avid blogger & twitter follower who suddenly decides to go cold turkey & there’s this young man from the suburbs to wants to taste this new offering. Another classic case of ‘One man’s food, another’s poison’.

If one sits back & dispassionately analyses the situation, the answer is simple & one that has been the solution to all lifestyle- related maladies. Its MODERATION IN ALL FORMS!!!!