I found this article in the Fashion and Style section of the NYT most intriguing and symptomatic to our lives today. Maybe even so the fact that it was under that particular section...hmmm
Aptly titled "Don't call me, I wont call you" discusses the supposed dwindling use of voice calls, and a state of affairs where we apparently no longer like to communicate by talking to each other...well at least via phone calls. Phone calls are seemingly rude intrusions...coming up at times when you are probably checking out a website, typing our that sms or some such . It's my assumption that this is very particularly a Big City syndrome. NY, Mumbai even...
There is a phenom of taking phone call appointments now days...without which a phone call may not be answered, and god forbid you dont get to the gist of your communication within a minute, you can palpably gauge the irritation on the other side...and I suspect likewise when it is your turn to be the listener....
Facebook, SMS, BB Chat ...seem to be adequate as are emails...
I am ambivalent on my stance here, while I do fall into the category of people who would rather be left OMO, than be subject to lengthy convos with plenty of segues...but I always imagined this to be one of the deteriorations of my human(e) side, and its something I am trying to get out of...I felt my vigilante style of being out of touch made me safer and more composed and was mostly an act of cocooning myself from things I did not wish for or think about.
When folks draw the line between whats acceptable and whats not....and remind you that it's only secluding and isolating you to the point of it being offensive...is when I woke up. I definitely figured out that I needed to lunge ahead from this comatose aspect and very unhealthy aspect, albeit slowly.
And then, I read this article today and realize, heck...everyones at it!
Fundamentally, communication is one of the factors that had made us evolve from a "single cellular" life form to such an entity which is responsible for so much development and destruction...communication is what makes us amusing to anyone watching the human progress some where out there....I mean if I was watching me/us... from somewhere out there...or I happen to be a sitcom on God's TV show...I would imagine our lives to be one hell of a Charlie Sheen ride...amusing just like Two and Half Men.
But seriously...what are we becoming? Why do we feel this innate need to stop communicating, why are we going back to the cave man era? Apart from getting calls from our absolute near and dear ones , we have fairly excommunicated ourselves or at least have those ideas....."Dont call me, dont want to hear from you and I wont call and you wont hear from me".
I wonder at times if we are taking our need for PRIVACY...to whole new ridiculous level. I would ( and this after a lot of thot) would love to feel the persons emotions over a voice call rather than try to figure out what a person is thinking over an email. To me , its easy to size up a situation when you actually "hear" someone ( given a situation that you probably cant see the person, which would be even better).
But, I sort of sit down and try to figure this out and I realize its really about the "out balance" situation our lives are subject to.
Look at all the "sales" calls we receive, all the unnecessary request to apply for a credit card or insurance and what not. If working the phones at work is not enough , our 24/7 lives are at the mercy of being at the beck and call of those all important "client" calls or business deals which can come thru at "any time", maybe the Boss has something to discuss ....the list is endless. The point being, all this incessant calling leaves us with s little "me" or family time.
It's irritating when the Husband has to be on some lengthy con-call on our annual holiday or if I happen to have hours of work to plug in just on the very day the husband and I have a Date Nite lined up....
You get the drift right...and herein lies the problem of drawing the line ...Mom/Dad/Family/select friends...are more important than any work place issue and having "decent" conversations is way more important ...to "them" and us too...it is what keeps us plugged into the "being human" process/progress or situation...call it what you want
Hearing a happy chuckle or maybe a few sniffs are all a part of living well and living sane.
It is after all what has evolved us.
But I also take the stance of crossing out crossing out meaninglessness-value add is not such a bad buzz word after all...But we need to ask ourselves the question, what is it that adds value to our lives? Is aloofness, solitary confinement the answer to any problem?
NO.
-----------
I finished part two of the Millennium Trilogy-The Girl Who Played With Fire...and I cant imagine the number of inspirations drawn from Lisbeth Salander...our adult, very modern ( Swedish to boot!) Lara Croft...lots of typecasts lately.
I like her, I like the notion of a misfit woman ( guess I have mentioned this earlier). I guess I just love a good dark horse theme.
I am already excited about reading the last part....
------------
Was listening to Josh Groban over the weekend...I like his classical takes, he is an interesting listen, but I dont quiet know how much I am going to end up listening to him.
He is good...I'm just not so sure how good an audience I am...well, at least for the time being.
Aptly titled "Don't call me, I wont call you" discusses the supposed dwindling use of voice calls, and a state of affairs where we apparently no longer like to communicate by talking to each other...well at least via phone calls. Phone calls are seemingly rude intrusions...coming up at times when you are probably checking out a website, typing our that sms or some such . It's my assumption that this is very particularly a Big City syndrome. NY, Mumbai even...
There is a phenom of taking phone call appointments now days...without which a phone call may not be answered, and god forbid you dont get to the gist of your communication within a minute, you can palpably gauge the irritation on the other side...and I suspect likewise when it is your turn to be the listener....
Facebook, SMS, BB Chat ...seem to be adequate as are emails...
I am ambivalent on my stance here, while I do fall into the category of people who would rather be left OMO, than be subject to lengthy convos with plenty of segues...but I always imagined this to be one of the deteriorations of my human(e) side, and its something I am trying to get out of...I felt my vigilante style of being out of touch made me safer and more composed and was mostly an act of cocooning myself from things I did not wish for or think about.
When folks draw the line between whats acceptable and whats not....and remind you that it's only secluding and isolating you to the point of it being offensive...is when I woke up. I definitely figured out that I needed to lunge ahead from this comatose aspect and very unhealthy aspect, albeit slowly.
And then, I read this article today and realize, heck...everyones at it!
Fundamentally, communication is one of the factors that had made us evolve from a "single cellular" life form to such an entity which is responsible for so much development and destruction...communication is what makes us amusing to anyone watching the human progress some where out there....I mean if I was watching me/us... from somewhere out there...or I happen to be a sitcom on God's TV show...I would imagine our lives to be one hell of a Charlie Sheen ride...amusing just like Two and Half Men.
But seriously...what are we becoming? Why do we feel this innate need to stop communicating, why are we going back to the cave man era? Apart from getting calls from our absolute near and dear ones , we have fairly excommunicated ourselves or at least have those ideas....."Dont call me, dont want to hear from you and I wont call and you wont hear from me".
I wonder at times if we are taking our need for PRIVACY...to whole new ridiculous level. I would ( and this after a lot of thot) would love to feel the persons emotions over a voice call rather than try to figure out what a person is thinking over an email. To me , its easy to size up a situation when you actually "hear" someone ( given a situation that you probably cant see the person, which would be even better).
But, I sort of sit down and try to figure this out and I realize its really about the "out balance" situation our lives are subject to.
Look at all the "sales" calls we receive, all the unnecessary request to apply for a credit card or insurance and what not. If working the phones at work is not enough , our 24/7 lives are at the mercy of being at the beck and call of those all important "client" calls or business deals which can come thru at "any time", maybe the Boss has something to discuss ....the list is endless. The point being, all this incessant calling leaves us with s little "me" or family time.
It's irritating when the Husband has to be on some lengthy con-call on our annual holiday or if I happen to have hours of work to plug in just on the very day the husband and I have a Date Nite lined up....
You get the drift right...and herein lies the problem of drawing the line ...Mom/Dad/Family/select friends...are more important than any work place issue and having "decent" conversations is way more important ...to "them" and us too...it is what keeps us plugged into the "being human" process/progress or situation...call it what you want
Hearing a happy chuckle or maybe a few sniffs are all a part of living well and living sane.
It is after all what has evolved us.
But I also take the stance of crossing out crossing out meaninglessness-value add is not such a bad buzz word after all...But we need to ask ourselves the question, what is it that adds value to our lives? Is aloofness, solitary confinement the answer to any problem?
NO.
-----------
I finished part two of the Millennium Trilogy-The Girl Who Played With Fire...and I cant imagine the number of inspirations drawn from Lisbeth Salander...our adult, very modern ( Swedish to boot!) Lara Croft...lots of typecasts lately.
I like her, I like the notion of a misfit woman ( guess I have mentioned this earlier). I guess I just love a good dark horse theme.
I am already excited about reading the last part....
------------
Was listening to Josh Groban over the weekend...I like his classical takes, he is an interesting listen, but I dont quiet know how much I am going to end up listening to him.
He is good...I'm just not so sure how good an audience I am...well, at least for the time being.
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