I have turned off all notifications on my phone, except for old school phone calls. (I may or may not have watched The Social Dilemma over the weekend)
However, this exercise got me thinking about how technology, with all its gadgets and paraphernalia, was meant to be used as a tool. Ironically, it’s taken over our lives and made us tools instead. Kudos to that though, it was no mean task. We are well and truly hooked. Living more, digitally, than in actual life. Our eyes and minds have been bogged down and straining under the relentless attack of screens. Days pass by in a daze, mindlessly swiping from one Insta story to the next, infinitely scrolling and never quite catching up (which, honestly, we aren’t even meant to), syncing life updates from one app and device to the other.
Our minds are being harnessed to mine data from our lives so that we can be targeted, with products and as products. This is marketing at its best. Again, kudos. I marvel at what the human mind can imagine, create and achieve in its quest for complete capitalism. I am beginning to feel that The Matrix was not quite that futuristic. We are but humanoid pods, sown in a farm, being reaped by the machines while we remain blissfully oblivious, sincerely believing this to the the best life.
Be that as it may, I am now choosing to take back the power and pull on my attention. I will consciously decide what I will expend my energy on and for how long. We talk about sustainability, sustainable earth goals and what not, forgetting that in order to sustain our minds, we need stimulation and not mere emulation of the latest social media trend. I will feed rather than drain my mind from now on. So that when I go to bed, it is with a feeling of having consumed knowledge and energy rather than being consumed by technology to aid Big Data and its allies.
So I call upon all of you to send my your choicest of articles, poetry, art, podcasts, videos, music and whatever else you might consider food for the soul. I have been starved and deprived for so long that I long for a feast now. Help a sister out, will you?
They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. I am challenging myself to get into the habit of living my life like humans were intended to and designed for. I will interact, communicate and meditate with what matters and enriches me. And in this quest, I just might end up knowing and reclaiming myself. Are you with me on this journey? I would love to hear your views, because I truly think you lot nurture, enthral and captivate me in the best way there is.
Looking forward to your wonderful ideas.
As always,
Love,
Varnika.