Disconnect to Connect

Some time back we were on our way to Manali, a beautiful hill station in North India.  The fresh and cool morning breeze awoke me from my slumber. I was enamoured by the picturesque locales .Soon the driver stopped the bus at a roadside café for a quick bite and tea. We all got off the bus, stretching our weary body from the nights travel, went on to freshen up and grab a quick bite. The view of the valley from there was breathtakingly beautiful. We ordered for some tea and sat down to savour the cool breeze and watching the kaleidoscope of colours painting the sky from tones of grey to pink and then bright crimson, as if rolling out a red carpet for the sun to make a grand entry. There was a  nip in the air, sounds of the birds chirping, wild bright mountain flowers swaying to the breeze, butterflies fluttering by……it was picture perfect in the lap of nature.

Looking around at my fellow passengers also waiting for their breakfast to arrive, I was surprised to see that except for a couple of people, most others were glued to their phones. I thought to myself, “Haven’t they come here to be away from the hectic hustle bustle of city life? So instead of soaking in every breath of the beauty of nature, why are they still glaring at their phone? “The sheer idea of coming out on a holiday, I felt was defeated.

It set me thinking……Are we becoming a generation of cell phone addicts?

Have we got ourselves embroiled in a technological mess? Yes I fully concur that technology has made our lives far easier but, it has also made us its slaves. Be it at a restaurant, movie theatre, hospital, bus stop, traffic light or any other place, it is very common to find people staring into their phone. Their lives are totally wired 24/7. Emails, gaming, chatting, shopping you name it, all are constantly hooked on to it.

Friends giving updates about every second of their life and posting it online, people living in the same house yet having only virtual conversations.…..don’t you think that it is an alarming trend? Have you observed that people feel incoherent without their phones?

We have enough research to validate the ill effects of excessive use of phones. Not only adults but children too have been caught in its web. It is a worldwide phenomenon, not just restricted to our country. We have become zombies with a phone in our hands.

Time has been a witness that any resource or invention, when used beyond its limit has negative repercussions. To have a life filled with love and warmth of people, we need to draw a line on our usage of the phone.

Let’s follow the motto of “Disconnect to connect” to make our life more meaningful and complete.

A penny for your thought:  “Can you stay without your phone at least for a day?”

Would love to know…….