2025: The Death of Romance as we know it
Lately, I've been thinking about how much I'm dependent on the Internet. I almost live here. This could be called my second home. Or actually my first. Of course, all this fascinating thinking was due to my plans of going abroad for higher studies and not imagining a life without a laptop and the Internet. And of course my thoughts couldn't have stopped right there and I had to have these horrific visions where there's this whole world of people who simply cannot live without the Net. I really do not know where it came from. If I was the sort then I'd have blamed the Martians for tampering with my brain, but I'm just content with blaming the Moon for my mood swings. That's me - mild.
Imagine the next generation being so tied up to a computer that they don't know the warmth of sunlight or the cold of winter. They sit in front of their computers in artifical environments and experience everything second-hand. Shopping, TV, movies, mail, meetings, work, school - everything is digitized, credit carded and email ordered. The only contact one can have with the world is through a cable. A malfunctioning server can make you feel suicidal. The scenes that my mind conjured up overtook me so badly that I went on a crazy conversation in my head...
Two teenage girls chatting.
Girl 1: You know, I found an old photo album of my mom.
Girl 2: Cool. What's the URL? Flickr?
Girl 1: No, you don't get it. An actual physical album.
Girl 2: *shocked* Oh. My. God. I'm so sorry.
Girl 1: Yes, I know. I didn't know how to react. It was so weird. I didn't know my mother had physical photo albums as late as 2005. The photos are so raw! Nothing is photoshopped. She must have been about 20 or so but she looks so haggard. So normal and lower class. I mean, I once saw her without her make-up a couple of years ago. I was reminded of that. I keep thinking why she did it. I know for a fact that there were photo editors back then. Why would someone choose to have photos of themselves that are not edited? *sad*
Girl 2: *consoling* Well, it's ok. It's not that bad really...
Girl 1: But it is! You wouldn't know. I also found...
Girl 2: What?
Girl 1: You promise me you won't tell anyone about this.
Girl 2: K.
Girl 1: Promise!
Girl 2: Ok, I promise.
Girl 1: She was... she was with a guy.
Girl 2: You mean..! *too shocked for words*
Girl 1: Yes, they were on an actual date.
Girl 2: I don't believe it! I realise how you must be feeling. *hugs* Well, how quaint!
Girl 1: It's not quaint, it's awful. Maybe we were too poor to own a computer so she had to go out and physically meet a boy.
Girl 2: I'm so sorry. This is really sad. It's totally... I mean... who would've thought?! Your mother looks so cool and technologically advanced. Remember the time when we were just five years old and she debugged your first computer for you? No one who looked at her now would believe she went on a physical date in 2005!
Girl 1: Yes. Maybe she was a rebel. Maybe she had a difficult childhood or something. I'm going discuss this with my therapist. She's going to log on in about half an hour. I'm feeling really bad about it. I won't feel fine until I write it all in her chat window and save it in her archives to get it off my head.
Girl 2: Yes, you do that. Btw, how are you doing with Boy?
Girl 1: Oh well, I don't know. He's funny and I'm positively in love with his display pic. His homepage is awesome. I was instantly attracted to his web-profile you know, the same interests! He even sent me an e-card and a bouquet from SendaBouquet.com after our first cyberdate, but he tried to cyberkiss me on our second cyberdate. Can you imagine that?! I totally froze when I saw the kissing smiley in the window. I didn't know what to type. Also, his email signature says, "Reality is just a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs", and sometimes he seems pretty phased out in chat. And he so cannot multitask. Chatting to three people at the same time is his limit. So... I'm in two minds about taking this further.
Girl 2: Did you two skype yet?
Girl 1: Oh yes, we skyped and webcammed all night yesterday. Mom probably saw the light under my door or heard the keyboard tap-sounds and sent me a 'go to sleep' email. I mean, how could she? I'm just having some fun. At least I'm not going out on physical dates with boys and leaving physical photos for my daughters to find.
*pause*
Girl 1:Oh my God! I just realised... do you think my mother physically kissed real boys on her physical dates?!!!
Girl 2: Oh GROSS!!!!
Girl 1: I think I'm going to be sick...
Here, the scene fades away and I realise how other worldly and scary it is. Let's not wonder about how possible or impossible it is, but think of this as my own personal nod to 1984. If Mr. G. Orwell can write something as outrageously unthinkable (and engrossing) as that and be lauded for it, I don't think I'm losing it as yet.
Imagine the next generation being so tied up to a computer that they don't know the warmth of sunlight or the cold of winter. They sit in front of their computers in artifical environments and experience everything second-hand. Shopping, TV, movies, mail, meetings, work, school - everything is digitized, credit carded and email ordered. The only contact one can have with the world is through a cable. A malfunctioning server can make you feel suicidal. The scenes that my mind conjured up overtook me so badly that I went on a crazy conversation in my head...
Two teenage girls chatting.
Girl 1: You know, I found an old photo album of my mom.
Girl 2: Cool. What's the URL? Flickr?
Girl 1: No, you don't get it. An actual physical album.
Girl 2: *shocked* Oh. My. God. I'm so sorry.
Girl 1: Yes, I know. I didn't know how to react. It was so weird. I didn't know my mother had physical photo albums as late as 2005. The photos are so raw! Nothing is photoshopped. She must have been about 20 or so but she looks so haggard. So normal and lower class. I mean, I once saw her without her make-up a couple of years ago. I was reminded of that. I keep thinking why she did it. I know for a fact that there were photo editors back then. Why would someone choose to have photos of themselves that are not edited? *sad*
Girl 2: *consoling* Well, it's ok. It's not that bad really...
Girl 1: But it is! You wouldn't know. I also found...
Girl 2: What?
Girl 1: You promise me you won't tell anyone about this.
Girl 2: K.
Girl 1: Promise!
Girl 2: Ok, I promise.
Girl 1: She was... she was with a guy.
Girl 2: You mean..! *too shocked for words*
Girl 1: Yes, they were on an actual date.
Girl 2: I don't believe it! I realise how you must be feeling. *hugs* Well, how quaint!
Girl 1: It's not quaint, it's awful. Maybe we were too poor to own a computer so she had to go out and physically meet a boy.
Girl 2: I'm so sorry. This is really sad. It's totally... I mean... who would've thought?! Your mother looks so cool and technologically advanced. Remember the time when we were just five years old and she debugged your first computer for you? No one who looked at her now would believe she went on a physical date in 2005!
Girl 1: Yes. Maybe she was a rebel. Maybe she had a difficult childhood or something. I'm going discuss this with my therapist. She's going to log on in about half an hour. I'm feeling really bad about it. I won't feel fine until I write it all in her chat window and save it in her archives to get it off my head.
Girl 2: Yes, you do that. Btw, how are you doing with Boy?
Girl 1: Oh well, I don't know. He's funny and I'm positively in love with his display pic. His homepage is awesome. I was instantly attracted to his web-profile you know, the same interests! He even sent me an e-card and a bouquet from SendaBouquet.com after our first cyberdate, but he tried to cyberkiss me on our second cyberdate. Can you imagine that?! I totally froze when I saw the kissing smiley in the window. I didn't know what to type. Also, his email signature says, "Reality is just a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs", and sometimes he seems pretty phased out in chat. And he so cannot multitask. Chatting to three people at the same time is his limit. So... I'm in two minds about taking this further.
Girl 2: Did you two skype yet?
Girl 1: Oh yes, we skyped and webcammed all night yesterday. Mom probably saw the light under my door or heard the keyboard tap-sounds and sent me a 'go to sleep' email. I mean, how could she? I'm just having some fun. At least I'm not going out on physical dates with boys and leaving physical photos for my daughters to find.
*pause*
Girl 1:Oh my God! I just realised... do you think my mother physically kissed real boys on her physical dates?!!!
Girl 2: Oh GROSS!!!!
Girl 1: I think I'm going to be sick...
Here, the scene fades away and I realise how other worldly and scary it is. Let's not wonder about how possible or impossible it is, but think of this as my own personal nod to 1984. If Mr. G. Orwell can write something as outrageously unthinkable (and engrossing) as that and be lauded for it, I don't think I'm losing it as yet.
posted by Aran at 2:51 PM
11 Comments:
who says you are losing it? this made my jaw drop as well as make me laugh (talk abt multi-tasking)...a brave new world in the making? you should write more in this vein my dear lady...that pen...err sorry keyboard of yours can raise some very thoughtful and serious questions hiding behind the mask of playfulness..
But do u really think there would be a way to contorol human urges of physical desire for food and love by a cable?
OK, sunshine is definitely somethign we can live without, so is moonlight or the winter chill, but the rest?
Anil. You warm the cockles of my heart. I've been using this phrase a lot lately but you know I take what you say seriously. :)
Plus, I'm so glad someone 'got' it. But it wouldn't be a brave new world. It would be a very sorry world if we managed to do that to ourselves.
Jai, you can get all the love you want from an IM window. Food... well, let me not get too far into science fiction but there already have been writings about food pills which would be enough for our dietary needs.
Live without sunshine?! Oh, the horror! I think you're already on the threshold of 2025. Moonlight, sunshine, winter chill... if you gave these up, pray tell me what would you be living for?
i was thinking more in terms of people who live in teh nordic countries without sunshine for 10 months at a go, and the winter chill, the still would be places which would nt have that, and moonlight, not really great fan of the moon, i am a sun person.As a matter of fact, i hate teh moon, no matter how beautiful it gets, its just not trust worthy, changes one too many shapes.
What do i live for... my needa re very primal...good food and good sex (or love, if its make it any correct)and ofcourse, the unknown.
Oh This is a classic example of visualization at its insane best.. A rather gloomy, humorous look at some of the impending dangers in the near future..
Ok.. I'll desist from praisin u further.. I am bored to death and I am sure you would get a notification that I have commented.. It is at times like this that nocturnal creatures should help their fellow creatures fight boredom.. If you are too bored talking about your you-know-what, (just to make some of the readers more curious) just tell me and I'll try sleeping as an alternative.. :(
Jai, you're scaring me.
Utopian Optimist, gloomy? It was gloomy? Sigh.
And I think we did a good enough job in getting each other out of boredom. :)
No, i am not
Hey. Me, a fellow cyberling(coinhabitant of cyberworld) stumbled across your blog, read the first post(current one) and was hooked. My first thought: decided you have an amazing sense of humor. Read from finish to start(first post 2004) until my eyes were ready to pop out and have concluded, you are an amazing writer!!
Do you write professionally too?
Am passionate(yeah!) about the English language and Weird and Whacky has come along at just the right time.
Lot of thoughts about your past posts, yet too late for them. Will look forward to the future as isnt that what this post is about.
OOooh! Adulation!! Finally! Now I'm not very far from that Booker, hmmm? Ahem, yes. I am thrilled by the fan-like tone in your comment. But... well... to tell you the truth, I'm also concerned. You read the entire archives? :o
I applaud your bravery. You have gone where no man has gone before. But please, display caution and restraint in the future. Now that we've found you, or actually you've found us, we want you well and sane for future fan-like comments. It is imperative.
No, I don't write professionally. I think that's because the world hasn't recognised my genius yet... but it will happen. Surely. So, uhmm, do you have a job offer or something?
Also, please, feel free to pepper my blog with your comments wherever you feel like it. Old posts, new posts, my blog is your blank wall. Go Graffiti. I'd get comment notifications and know exactly where you left your mark. :D
damn, that was a good comment! And a great post.
Thank you. :D
Post a Comment
<< Home