The mammoth Encyclopaedia book left little room for other books & magazines on the table. We were hovering over it from opposite sides of the table in the library of our school. We were searching for Barracuda, a ray-finned fish, for its large size & fearsome appearance.
While having fish for dinner the previous day in the school dining hall, three of my friends & I had thought of finding out the fastest fish in the world. So we missed our free period the next day and went to the library.
The school library had a few small encyclopaedias and a large one, which was the cynosure of everyone’s eyes.The seniors had lost interest in it long back and had moved on to pastures new like “Reproductive System” or “The Anatomy of Human Body”, specifically females.
That period was devoid of Google, Youtube, Wikipedia & Internet was still in its nascent stage. Social networking sites were unheard of. But we used to savour every second of our fact finding mission in the library. The initial state of grappling in the library to find the correct book from a pool of thousands of books was more fulfilling than getting information at the click of a mouse through Google or Wikipedia now. The still pictures in colour or Black & White in encyclopaedias & other books was more fun than the flashy videos of Youtube now.
While information can be found on a platter today , I still miss my school days where we had to try very hard to get it. And what a feat it was for us, once we found it. Reading Comics was such pure fun than the digital equivalents of today. Trading Comics was a skill not everyone possessed. It made you popular & wanted.
Gaming was about picking your cricket kit & rushing off to the nearest ground or pulling off your hockey stick kept under the bed with the required shoes and running wildly to capture the best part of the ground. Or searching for the best football in the school gymnasium by finishing lunch early or to persuade the house superintendent to procure the best nets for the volleyball practice or to witness the boxing match amidst roars of laughter and pandemonium in the school gymnasium.
These days we can experience every sport in a hand held PSP or a laptop. Even a five year old kid knows the cheat codes of Grand Theft Auto & Age of empires. Simulations have transformed the way we look at sport. The digital Gaming industry in US is bigger than Hollywood. Though Experts have equated digital gaming with creativity & intelligence, it can never be completely substitutable with the physical activity of real sport.
Social networking was more about being together at a designated place.
Slurping roadside tea, singing together or just throwing stones into oblivion without setting a target was more fun. We never called each other or updated messages anywhere to meet at a place every day. Neither did we send a message through our smartphones.
If a friend was out of town, inland letters were the only means of communication. I still have the six page letters sent by my friends on vacations and when I read them now, I know what I am missing. I have not been able to come to terms with an email sent by someone than a hand written letter.
Bonding through Social Networking sites is a myth. It has only globalised the interaction space by nullifying barriers & boundaries. But it has weakened the personal space of existing close knit friends. When I analysed my FaceBook friends list, I found that out of 150 friends, I interact with a measly 10%. And my close friends are either not there or are too dormant.
I wish no one asks me to upload pictures in a plethora of social networking sites.
I wish no one tells me about a popular golf simulation experience that is close to playing real golf.
I wish no one asks me when I am upgrading my iPhone 3G or if I have experienced the subtle nuances of an iPad in reading an iBook.
Too many advancements in technology has lead to lot of confusion & a different kind of rat race has emerged where everyone is trying to keep pace with the latest gizmos & gazettes.
I wish a time warp would somehow let me go back & relive the non-sophisticated & non-technological old times again.
While having fish for dinner the previous day in the school dining hall, three of my friends & I had thought of finding out the fastest fish in the world. So we missed our free period the next day and went to the library.
The school library had a few small encyclopaedias and a large one, which was the cynosure of everyone’s eyes.The seniors had lost interest in it long back and had moved on to pastures new like “Reproductive System” or “The Anatomy of Human Body”, specifically females.
That period was devoid of Google, Youtube, Wikipedia & Internet was still in its nascent stage. Social networking sites were unheard of. But we used to savour every second of our fact finding mission in the library. The initial state of grappling in the library to find the correct book from a pool of thousands of books was more fulfilling than getting information at the click of a mouse through Google or Wikipedia now. The still pictures in colour or Black & White in encyclopaedias & other books was more fun than the flashy videos of Youtube now.
While information can be found on a platter today , I still miss my school days where we had to try very hard to get it. And what a feat it was for us, once we found it. Reading Comics was such pure fun than the digital equivalents of today. Trading Comics was a skill not everyone possessed. It made you popular & wanted.
Gaming was about picking your cricket kit & rushing off to the nearest ground or pulling off your hockey stick kept under the bed with the required shoes and running wildly to capture the best part of the ground. Or searching for the best football in the school gymnasium by finishing lunch early or to persuade the house superintendent to procure the best nets for the volleyball practice or to witness the boxing match amidst roars of laughter and pandemonium in the school gymnasium.
These days we can experience every sport in a hand held PSP or a laptop. Even a five year old kid knows the cheat codes of Grand Theft Auto & Age of empires. Simulations have transformed the way we look at sport. The digital Gaming industry in US is bigger than Hollywood. Though Experts have equated digital gaming with creativity & intelligence, it can never be completely substitutable with the physical activity of real sport.
Social networking was more about being together at a designated place.
Slurping roadside tea, singing together or just throwing stones into oblivion without setting a target was more fun. We never called each other or updated messages anywhere to meet at a place every day. Neither did we send a message through our smartphones.
If a friend was out of town, inland letters were the only means of communication. I still have the six page letters sent by my friends on vacations and when I read them now, I know what I am missing. I have not been able to come to terms with an email sent by someone than a hand written letter.
Bonding through Social Networking sites is a myth. It has only globalised the interaction space by nullifying barriers & boundaries. But it has weakened the personal space of existing close knit friends. When I analysed my FaceBook friends list, I found that out of 150 friends, I interact with a measly 10%. And my close friends are either not there or are too dormant.
I wish no one asks me to upload pictures in a plethora of social networking sites.
I wish no one tells me about a popular golf simulation experience that is close to playing real golf.
I wish no one asks me when I am upgrading my iPhone 3G or if I have experienced the subtle nuances of an iPad in reading an iBook.
Too many advancements in technology has lead to lot of confusion & a different kind of rat race has emerged where everyone is trying to keep pace with the latest gizmos & gazettes.
I wish a time warp would somehow let me go back & relive the non-sophisticated & non-technological old times again.
Thankfully our generation have seen this change..faced it..felt it from close quarters.I am just pondering.. what coming next? There is no doubt..Bonding through Social Networking sites is a myth..if we are bonding with someone you did not knew beforehand...
ReplyDeleteSince these same sites made me re-connect to my old school/college mates with whom i had lost touch...I am sure its true for every one out there.