Is it not true that most of us are really cramped and suffocated from inside? It could be because we have no one to open up to or confide in. Is there a single soul who knows you ‘in and out’, your parent, brother, sister, cousin, a neighbor or a friend? Heart-to-heart conversations are a thing of the past and what have replaced it, are shallow and cosmetic exchanges over the social media. I think you would agree to a great extent? This is the reason why our emotions, thoughts and feelings find no vent or an escape route. Most of us have an unhealthy build-up of feelings, emotions, thoughts and anger inside us, making us short tempered, ready to explode anytime at the slightest of provocations. The situation is akin to a pressure cooker on the gas stove that has extremely high pressure inside it. People have always had and will always continue to have anxieties, fears, apprehensions, and unless these are thoroughly and openly discussed, resolution could be a far away dream. In this scenario, all the insecurities and fears stay inside and become a cause of untold mental stress. In order to maintain a social decorum, to project an outwardly calm & composed personality as well as an image of a happy-go-lucky person, we hold back our infirmities, vulnerabilities and fears keeping them buried deeply inside us. Among life-partners too, there is not much conversation as technology has invaded their lives too. Husband and wife have their own private (technological) lives away from each other that they keep under wraps.

In today’s milieu we try to avoid meeting friends and tender flimsy reasons for not showing up. This does not portend a healthy sign of the things to come. Rather than halting the wrong trend, we encourage it, thus making it even worse for our own revival and stands in the way of living healthier lives. By sending a few messages we think that we are in touch with our friends, which is highly misplaced and ill conceived. Where are the lovely ringing sounds of laughter and spoken words that seem like pearls?

Why are heart-to heart conversations fading away into history? Most people do not indulge in extravagant exchange of ideas, experiences and thoughts for the fear of being judged and ostracized. You may be labelled opinionated and stubborn, which you least want. Friends that do not judge you or see you through the lens of right and wrong, who are comfortable with your imperfections, inconsistencies and flaws are hard to find nowadays. People have no time (for others) to just drop by and share a laugh, cry and spend some undivided time together that seems like pure pleasure. Just sharing selfies of happy faces does not inspire much gaiety. Professional relationships are shallow and ephemeral. Often there are hidden agendas that fail to serve much needed purpose of ablution and catharsis of the mind. In the professional world, heeding to and displaying soft emotions is seen as a childish or an immature act. Social media platforms have hijacked our interactions to a large extent. For the fear of inviting adverse comments, reprisals and trolling by some deranged minds, fair and frank discussions have vanished into thin air.

Image Credit : The Indian Express

Face-to-face hearty talks laden with touch, feel, guffaws, loud laughter used to be so relieving, taking away all our worries and tensions. Moreover, joint families ensured great support system for all members of the family. Before the advent of modern technology, we never had an alternate way of staying in touch than to meet and visit our friends and families regularly. In those times we did not have any social media but we were happier, more contended without too many anxieties or insecurities. On the corollary, with better technology, that we have today, we have made our own lives, a living hell. We have reduced ourselves to nothing more than walking robots. Our conversations revolve more around recently bought fashion items and senseless talk lacking any meaningful content. I don’t remember from the recent past who has ever talked to me about literature, philosophy, spiritual endeavors and meditation techniques. Few minutes of interaction in today’s times cannot serve the same purpose as did hours of physical interactions in the past. Can we live a few hours away from the digital connection with no sign of Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Quora etc.? Does it seem an impossible task? We desperately need a resuscitation of sorts to mend the broken and parched lives sucked dry by technological upheaval. Just think, if this could be an easy way out of the mess we have landed ourselves in. Just think about taking a good decision to mandatorily disconnect for a few hours a day, a week or a year.          

May God Rehabilitate the mankind!