CHATTER AND BLATHER

 

CHATTER AND BLATHER

 

I don’t know whether this is an age thing or if my appreciation of all things human is starting to wear thin.  A bit of bad temper rising to the fore when confronted by conversations that irritate.  Some background for this article is in order.  It started in a dressing room and people chatting after a workout and getting dressed.  Innocent chatter.  Somehow the topic of conversation ended up about the moon, recent space ventures and human aspirations to colonize the moon.  I can’t even remember how we got to that topic, but somehow it digressed into what each knew about the topic or what piqued their interest.  One stated categorically that the moon landing was a total fake.  Apparently he had a source at NASA that confirmed this and that all paperwork had mysteriously vanished.  Wow!  I don’t know anybody at NASA, especially someone with intimate knowledge!  The other complained about cost and why even bother.  You get the drift.  I realized within a minute that all their talking points came from websites and cyber sources that validated their opinions, suppositions and suspicions.  We tell so many porkies that nobody seems to care anymore.

Escaping reality.

This article is about our fascination with cyber media sources and the kind of entertainment that allows you to tune in to a multitude of bits and bytes that satisfy and cater to all your whims and wishes.  And there are so many sites to choose from and without a doubt you will find one that provides you with the siren song you prefer to listen to.  Our rather spurious conversation clearly illustrated how people will reference sources of information without quantifying the source for accuracy and verification.  The number of gadget carrying experts has exploded and fact checking is immaterial in a world that just wants to get “it” out there, proudly listing the number of hits or likes as if the number of views legitimizes the accuracy of what is displayed or portrayed as factual.

This is a frustrated me talking and how ordinary chit-chat about innocent things, like the weather, the kids, community events, appears to have vanished from the social scene.  Looking at each other with interest.  Eye contact.  Body language.  It is vanishing like snow before a hot sun.  Gadgets and bit and bytes are replacing personal interaction.  The “knowledge” is all over the place, from outrageous conspiracy theories to the most outlandish statements and fabrications.

Media fragmentation and media saturation.  Too many song sheets and nobody is listening.

We have turned ourselves into little boats floating aimlessly across bodies of water, occasionally bumping into each other and making contact, but most of the time we’re just bouncing around, looking awfully busy not going anywhere.  We have turned ourselves into wireless, gadget addicts, thriving in a world created by clever programmers, influencers, pod casters and media gurus and you are free to follow or become a subscriber, free or for a fee.  Anybody can get into the act, passively or actively and there are apps galore that will help you expand your viewing audience.  Personally I will never rack up thousands or even millions of hits or views as most of my articles run to 4 or 5 pages of text and most gadget addicts have a hard time reading a full, grammatically correct sentence, leave alone an entire paragraph (it would hurt the brain).

How do you get attention?

If I were a contortionist I could post a video of myself, butt naked, bending over, head emerging and face twisting, looking myself in the ass.  Now, that my dear friends would garner a million views or more because it is short, funny, entertaining and you don’t have to think.  Substance is not a priority, is it?

Cyber entertainment has become a global pacifier and we suck on it with gusto.  It provides the viewer with a dizzying starburst of pointed little words or short phrases, video clips and images.  Second after second of blissful entertainment and none of it very long or taxing.  It’s so easy to get sucked into this cyber world, I mean you only have to look at the number of phones, tablets and computers sold each year and the most telling aspect is the number of individuals glued to their handheld devices as they walk past.  I live close to a school and it is absolutely amazing how many people, youngsters and parents, are engrossed in their devices without looking at each other and miraculously managing to get to their destination and not bumping into anything.  Is it about attention, about belonging?  Instant gratification?  Most of the stuff they’re scrolling and streaming is absolutely asinine, immaterial and not important.  The lure has to be the world that is being created for them.

An alternative to real life.

Your job may suck and you can barely meet your monthly payments, but the magical cyber lifeline is there.  An escape from the drudging reality of life, boring, repetitive and lacking any kind of challenge.  But what you’re holding in the palm of your hand is sheer magic and it makes you feel that you belong.  And there are no repercussions.  Everybody is doing it!  People eye me with suspicion because I don’t carry a device and while we’re waiting in the dental office I’m the only one not staring at my palm, finger touching the screen, scrolling.  A quick text and an emoji, a heart with a capital U beside it; meaning that I love you.  I think I make them feel uncomfortable.  We’re all doing it, why isn’t he?

Obsessive behaviors.

Obsession is a word that comes to mind because they can’t turn it off and you have to make sure that you keep the device charged and heaven forbid if you ever misplace the darn thing.  Anxiety attacks and a quick trip to the ER to get your blood pressure back under control.  Miss a text or a pic, that is short for photograph or image, and you’re no longer in, but out.  You brain constantly screams for more, all those increased serotonin and endorphin levels, cheering you on.  You need that communication high, that flow of adrenalin that makes you feel connected.  Part of the herd.  I guess I qualify as a lone bull grazing on the fringes, largely ignored and pitied.

Self-induced anxiety.

Leave it turned off and you will stare at it, willing to burst it into life with a text or a pic.  It needs to be in your hand or close by in your pocket, just in case you’re engaged in an activity that requires both hands, like work or some other mundane task, but you want to be able to interrupt such activity when you hear a beep or feel it vibrate.  The vibrating part is the only thing that would attract me!  How much time spent on a cellphone interruption is dreaded; sleep, a shower and heaven forbid, workplaces that won’t allow you to check and text while working.  Enforced deprivation, how dare they!

Let’s talk about addiction.

How much time spent on an electronic device is too much?  I know that individuals get extremely angry when you point out their excessive use and the massive amount of time they spent, or is waste a better word?  I asked a young co-worker the following question: If you had to choose between your boyfriend, or giving up your cellphone, which would it be?  Without hesitation she replied, “He would go.  I’ll never give up my cellphone.”  Scary that a phone is more cherished than a real person.  Isn’t that a sign of addiction?  Users are so intimately connected to their device and with an intensity that is absolutely frightening.  Any criticism is met with an angry reply.  Mind your own business, I don’t care what you think.  You’re probably jealous.  My device gives me everything I need and crave and nothing comes between us.  And that includes you. 

A definition of addiction or addict: To devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessive.  To gamble.  To become physiologically dependent on a drug.  A compulsive need for a habit-forming drug. 

I guess it is appropriate for me to replace drug with device and let’s test it with the following questions.

--Could you leave your cellphone at home for 24 hours and not turn it on?

--Could you give it up for a week?

--Could you do without?

--Could you limit its use to let’s say one hour a day?

--Do you need to carry it with you 24/7?

Why is the cyber world that we have created so addictive and why are we in denial about its use and the frequency; the amount of time we waste on it?

You are what you watch.  You are what you pay attention to.

There is a level of connectivity that comes without restrictions or parameters.  There are no rules and consequences and you can watch whatever pleases you and the when, where and how much is entirely up to the individual.  There is virtually no monitoring and checks and balances are missing.  It provides a user with the kind of freedom that is not only addictive, it provides them with a sense of power and control, with a connectedness that makes you feel that you’re in the driver’s seat.  A validation of your existence, that you are important and that you matter.  And isn’t that the true impact of an addiction?  The ultimate drug.

In the real world you’re nothing but a cog in the wheel, an insignificant speck of dust that nobody pays attention to.  It is the biggest mind pacifier ever invented and as addictive as the worst drug on the market.  It is legal, actively promoted and highly profitable.

I know that my voice is like a cry in the wilderness, a tree falling in the forest and nobody hears.  Smoking was in at one time and then came the alarming voices about the ill-health effects and slowly but surely we smartened up and most of us quit.  Humans rather suck at turning off and quitting bad habits and I put cellphones on par with tattooing and people pretending they’re coloring books.

Feel free to comment or share.  I’ll be safe from the average cellphone user as this article is a tad longer than a paragraph and you actually have to read it and perhaps thinking and switching on that brain might hurt.  Oh, humanity, how low have we sunk!  Howl with me.