My childhood was that normal one, back in the Village where mobile phones were rare gadgets, we knew of black and white TV’s that enjoyed additional stripe-coloured screens to at least make them colour televisions. A number of years later, Motorola T190 and Erickson phones came into existence with only the ‘elite’ getting to own them then strapping them on their belts, the village had to know they owned phones you know. Trees would get to be friends to these mobile Phone owners, blame poor networks at such times as those. We would marvel at the sight of such call making scenes and hold the callers in high regard.
Back to the thorn. Now…….. The neighborhood boasts of ranges of phone models, smart phones for that matter with fingers doing the touching and sliding. The internet has come of age where even a farmer deep in the village in the remotest of areas gets to do business via an application designed to fit the needs of their craft. The gist of this is the diminishing of conversations where fingers do the talking leaving us drowned in the mobile service providers juicy unlimited options. Cafeterias have been forced to put up WI-Fi as a tool to cash in as well as facilitate the battery modes through sockets spread on their walls. The rush for these sockets is a display of talent, you may mistake such for a terrorism scare or better still a drill against the same.
Nowadays, owning a phone that is Whats App-less so unpopular that the owner is forced to feel out of place, a camera-less phone so rare to find especially if the phrase “youth” matters in the respective context. Churches continue to experience diminishing Bible sales, thanks to the Bible App that has skyrocketed copy-pasted verses on social media, if only the posts would be sharing from deep mediation and understanding of the context and aim of the Bible text. Multiple application continuously run as the sermon is served to a generation that needs to Face the Book of life more than it Facebooks, SAD!!!!!
One family, different worlds. We sit in the same house, but, each person is in his/her own world, one checking on mails, another on the trends, the other on the latest music release and the other obviously on the addictive WhatsApp. Kids no longer find it worth bonding with parents, instead, they prey on their gadgets, their phones. Conversations have been confined to inboxes and chat boxes leaving little or no room for constructive talk in today’s houses and very a drowning man’s straw for parents to clutch on with regards to knowing their children well. So, next time you meet a teenager who knows not of the responsibility call, just reach out to your phone and curse it. The run-away grown up kids have let mobile money transfer services a reason not to travel back to the village yet that is where they trace their roots, home remains best despite the east and west escapades in the name of ventures to make life better than it is. There is no way phones can Replace Family time lest we are okay if family ties remain loosely tied.
My take is, phones are here to stay and connect the world leading to the achievement of the village-ness we yearn for but can never replace family, friends and community relevance. We need keep healthy relationships that are one-on-one no matter the distance, keeping the phones to play the planning role for actual meet-ups.
We have a thorn in our flesh, and a choice………. either fight it heads on or perish having adopted it to replace doing life for if the pricking continues, it will prick for REAL.
