The Distraction Box

My news feed had a very interesting thing today. There was this article about a distraction box. It’s a box which can hold up to four phones at a time and is shut with a timer. You cannot open the box till the timer doesn’t go off!

Well, the biggest irony here is that, we need a device to prevent being distracted by another device!

But, we do need it, don’t we?

Recollect the last party you attended with friends or even family for that matter. How many of you were ‘actually’ talking? Wasn’t it almost a photo shoot? Everyone putting an ‘ootd’ caption on Snapchat, flaunting that outfit they had meticulously planned for that day. Everyone trying to get an Instagram worthy picture to let their followers know how amazing their life is! While everyone was busy interacting with this huge virtual world, they seemed to neglect the real people around them.

Albert Einstein had said long ago, ‘One day technology would take over human interaction; that would be a generation of stupids.’ No wonder he was right. The social media is a living proof of his prediction.

A group of friends sitting quietly at a restaurant is the saddest thing that can happen. If all you had to do was scroll down your news feed; why did you plan an outing in the first place? Taking that perfect selfie is more important than having a perfect moment with your people, isn’t it? After all, you cannot get 100+ likes on that beautiful moment! (Sarcasm to be noted)

I feel it would make really more sense looking at the best version of each other without cameras around than faking candids. It would be better to stop chatting and start talking. It would be better to feed a real cute puppy than using the Snapchat dog filter all day long! It would just be amazing if life happened instead of a photo shoot!

Yes, I do understand pictures are memory stills. I do understand that staying connected with world on social media keeps you updated. I do understand that these inventions have taken the progress of human kind to another level. However, what is the point of having 1000 pictures of a certain day, but when you look at them you have no memories? What is the point if those pictures remind only dressing up and clicking pictures? What is the point talking with a long lost friend all day while your close ones are just getting bored of your company?

They say, ‘Best moments are those, you forgot taking pictures of’.

Think about the times you laughed your lungs out. So much so that tears came out of your eyes. When you were so busy being happy, that you even forgot to capture the moment. Even thinking about that moment puts up a beautiful smile on your face. And if you don’t have such a moment, then maybe you’re extremely unfortunate.

Considering the current state of affairs, I feel that we do need these distraction boxes, where we can lock our phones for few hours and not be able to stare at the screen. But then again, depending on one device to avoid the cons of the other, is it right? Can we not be our own distraction boxes? Can we not just decide that we have to spend quality time with the people we love? Can we not choose people over machines? Can we not have an amazing life without showing it off? Can we not be upset without removing a DP or setting up depressing quotes? Can’t we just stop pretending?

Well, if we try, we can. But we need to be willing to try. Taking a picture or two at an event is not wrong. Spending some alone time interacting with people in the chat room is in fact interesting. However, to be able to balance is important. It’s the balance which decides how happy you would be in life.

Balance, in fact, is the key to deal with life. Excess of anything is as bad as limiting it too much. You cannot be anti-social and be absent from any sort of social media. Also, you cannot even just keep on being obsessed with that device in your hand and forget the entire world around. You just need to do everything in right proportions.

So the next time, when you are with family, or hanging out with friends, keep one thing in mind. In the times of need, the 1782 friends on Facebook or 2k followers at Instagram are going to be useless. Maybe that one friend who does not have a Facebook account would stand by you, holding your hand. So, enjoy this technology, but work on real relationships. Don’t rely on machines at least for your emotional needs. Do not let virtual world take over the real one. Don’t depend on a distraction box to heal that ‘selfie syndrome’ of yours. In fact be your own distraction box!