As usual, I sat by the corner observing. Waiting to see if anyone from the fold would raise their head up from the black hole they were so focused in but no. The group of students I sat with were all engrossed deeply in their phones.
Not like I didn't have my phone to fiddle with or that my phone wasn't interesting enough, I just have this little tingle within me that always says “group gatherings are for physical discussions and not phone fiddling”.
It is now a thing of immense concern to see a large percentage of people walk on the street with their eyes fixed on their phone screens. I did a little survey one random Wednesday on my way back from school. I checked to see the number of people who either held their phones in their hands or were fiddling with it and nine out of ten people were victims. And I'm not even exaggerating. I do not know whether this happens only in my part of the world or if it's a general thing.
I'm uncertain about the nature of contemporary human relationships.One minute people are having a discussion and the next minute they are suffocating their phones. It could be for work purposes or just for entertainment but they still fiddle with the phone. And I usually have one question in mind “what about the human sitting right in front of you? How do you think they feel?” Nothing annoys me more than this.
We have all been victims of this at some point; at least I know that I have been. I know that at some point in my life, I was a part of the people who clung to their phone and if anything happened to my phone, I could have a heart attack. But then, I realized that irrespective of the fact that my phone is my go-to device, I could always live a proper life without it.
This lack of physical interaction goes beyond just phones. Sometimes, we claim to be extremely busy just to avoid mindful discussions with the people around us. One thing I always say and I genuinely stand by is that if someone really likes you, they would effortlessly create time for you. They may be the busiest of humans but that wouldn't stop them from dedicating a few minutes to check up on you.
This brings me to the song of the day; “Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin” released in 1974. This song talks about a man’s relationship with his son. it reminds me of the saying “an apple doesn't fall too far from the tree”.
Basically, the father in the picture rarely had time for his son. No time to show the kid a mole of fatherly love. Such actions would obviously hurt a kid and along the line, the kid may grow up to think such actions are normal. As expected, the son in the picture became like the father as he matured. No time to discuss with the father hence, the title of the song.
This goes without saying that one cannot sow evil and expect to reap good. We should try to prioritize physical communication. We have all day to fiddle with our phones and as such, we should cherish the little time we have in the presence of our loved ones. This way, we do not forget how to keep conversations and we also get to foster meaningful relationships.
Love 🤍