There really was life before the Internet

There really was life before the Internet

Do you really believe?! Yes humans did live before internet……

Yes a great many of us did live in an age where we awaited the post man for the latest related to those not in immediate vicinity but were dear to us. We peered anxiously for the newspaper boy for the news on what happened at places a few miles away and in positions of power. We eagerly awaited the tring of the land based phone that sat in the corner of the room, and those occasions we crowded around it to talk with the elusive call from our dear one. Miles were real then, so was the love.

Everyone knew when the letter arrived. There were inquiries about everyone and there were tears in Mummy’s eyes when loving regards were read out. And then we went shopping. No not delivered home by uniformed delivery boys, but carried back home in cloth bags. We purchased fabric that we took to the tailors and had it stitched according to our wishes. Banking happened in banks – not on your phones. You wrote out bank checks and had passbooks updated to know what we had left in our accounts.

We waited in queues to book the tickets for the movies and the taste of the popcorn we ate while we watched the shows still lingers on. We had time to go to the beach and get our feet wet in the surf. And occasionally drop into our relatives place by surprise. It surprises us today that we used to actually love it when someone came visiting and we were thrilled to have guests in our homes during the evenings. Yes we were happy to open our door to the relative or friend.

We chatted with one another, discussed and even fought over the dinner table. You were missed if you missed the diner and we all knew if someone was feeling low or down. We crowded together and felt the warmth of our family every day. There were always something for everyone to say and no one was unwanted.

Times have of course changed. We now have all the conveniences. These are neatly packed into 2 inch by 6 inch packs called mobile phones. The one factor that keeps us apart are the time zones we have not learnt to master. Yes, we no longer miss the brother or sister living in a foreign country. We hear his or her voice every day and even watch his image while we do a video call. Except we never feel the warmth that is there in the letter we communicated. In short we do not miss him or her anymore.

We find guest unwelcome and we lock ourselves within the four walls of imprisonment, we call home. When someone does come calling we watch through the peep hole and stay silent until he goes away. We tell lies on where we are just to keep them away. We live entrapped within mobile phone, laptops and televisions. We do not part of anyone’s heart.

We watch movies on the laptop and or maybe even the mobile phones and movie watching is no longer for the fun but to be one of those in the list who did and not be among the “did not.” It doesn’t matter to us that the thrill is lost, so is the fun of going to the movie hall, forget the popcorn.

Instead of going out on a walk we drive. Instead of shopping we order on the phones. Instead of the talking finally we have learnt to send the idiotic emoji. The funny faces, the thumbs up, even the flower for condolences for the departed soul. I would scarcely be surprised if in the near future, we had child birth by phones, computers or more realistically by robots.

Maybe there won’t be humans in the future but robots calling themselves humans. But then who wants to be human anymore?

It may be worth remembering that we did have a life before we got automated. When we  lived, liked, loved and liked living and loving………