Computersight -

It is remarkable that we now live in a world so full of gadgets that we can do a lot of things so efficiently that we leave off enough time for other more productive things. The truth is, it’s not the reality. I’m usually glued to my computer doing many tasks of like preparing lessons for my classes, plain surfing and writing like I do today. The computer gives you a certain kind of addiction never felt before by someone in the early 80s or even 90s.

But what do we miss because of this information revolution? I list here some things I observed were lost because of too much preoccupation with our modern communication devices:

1. Less time to do the household chores. Once I get hooked writing about a certain idea or developing some kind of theme, I am no longer inclined to do other things like doing the household chores. Some things need to be fixed, or there’s a need to go somewhere.
2. Less conversation with other people. Being entertained by all sorts of things in the internet reduces opportunities to talk with people around you. People tend to be self-centered. There is less chance to gain friends. Once my child is glued on her computer game, I cannot talk to her without some snide remarks. She might miss the next level!
3. Less time for other creative pursuits. Non-computer work hobbies are lessened, if not gone. I need to do some gardening. Or probably pursue my sketching hobby or just tinker with things. I did but not that devotedly.
4. Less time to sleep. Though sleepy, we might extend our surfing activities because we found an interesting site or discovered new information. We tend to forget it’s time to sleep. Much more so if the computer clock happened to be set late.
5. Less time for exercise. The well exercised part of your body when you surf the net is either the palm of your hand or your fingers. The eyes minimally, and even the head is kept in a steady position. In the long run we might proportionately have big hands and fingers attached to skinny arms.

There may be other important things I might have missed. But the point is clear: our modern gadgets somehow made our life more impersonal. We have become like robots, weaving ourselves in the complex network of wires and binary numbers, our eyes glued on that bright, square thing that doesn’t talk or respond unless you do something to it. Everything appears to be just like make believe, where we do a lot of things but nothing gets done. We have probably have added more information in our heads than what we can take and forgot that there is beauty right outside of our windows that need to be appreciated or activities that bring us closer to other people. What’s left of our humanity?

Realizing this, well, I have to leave now. I need to transplant tomato seedlings from the growing container to my home garden. Wait, what’s the best time and how do I do it. I need to surf a bit…