Technology

It has become a common scenario these days to see a young couple walking hand-in-hand into a cozy cafe, choose a table in a secluded spot, settle into their chairs.....and promptly whip out their mobile phones to text or facebook! The only time they acknowledge each other is when they pass their phones to share a joke or newsfeed.

Another common scenario : Parents bringing their children to restaurants, stash ipads or iphones into their childrens' eager hands, let them murder some green pigs with red birds, yellow birds and black birds that resemble a bomb. This successfully keeps the children quiet while the parents enjoy their meal. They feed their kids.....while the latter open their mouths to accept food like robots without a care for what they are eating, as their eyes and attention are glued to the mini screens.

Which brings us to this question. Why is the modern concept of quality time so similar and yet so different from our parents' time?

Rewind back to 50 years ago. It was a common scenario then to see a young couple walking hand-in-hand into a cozy cafe, chose a table in a secluded spot, settled into their chairs......and actually talked! They shared their day with each other, and enjoyed a laugh together over a joke. Of course, phones 50 years ago resembled a black box with a bulky round dialling gadget, and the only function is to talk into an equally bulky receiver. The phone could not follow a person all over the place as (i) it's heavy and (ii) it can only go as far as the cord would allow it to!

Another common scenario : Parents brought their children to restaurants, stashed dolls or small plastic cars into their childrens' hands to keep them quiet while they enjoyed their meal. They then let the children attempt to feed themselves, though at times making a mess. They talked and laughed with their kids and taught them the names of the food. The children learned table manners from a young age.

What is to be blamed for the degeneration of the concept of quality time? Is it technology? Technology makes life a lot easier, but it has come to a stage that people over-rely on technology in their everyday life. It causes people to grow apart while being together. While it is convenient to have technology by our sides and make our lives so much easier, we have to be careful not to let it become a bondage to us. The lure of new gadgets are strong, and the need to own it is great, not because of 'need', but because of 'want'. It has become a status symbol. A college student will spend his free time working part-time instead of studying, and blows his paycheck on a new iphone ( despite already having an older model of iphone ).

In His commandments, God prohibits idolatry. But has technology become more than a bondage, to the point that it has become the new idol of this era? The global stir caused by the death of Steve Jobs recently shows that people care more about THAT apple than they do the one that caused man to fall into sin!

I personally am not against technology, though not to the point of being ruled by it. I do enjoy text messaging though Mr. Caveman does not. His texts ( from his antique mobile phone ) are brief to the point of mind-boggling. Sometimes he simply sends me a one-worded text message. One that says 'home', leaving me to figure out whether he is leaving office for home, whether he's on his way home, or whether he is already home and waiting for me in the parking lot. Perhaps he enjoys sending smoke signals from his cave instead!!