Going Back To The Dark Ages

My question in response to the prompt is why should we at all think of a life without  computer?

In today’s age of technology existence without computer will be like receding to the dark ages.

From reading to studying to office work to personal banking to collecting information to shopping to leisure activities, we are dependent on the computer for the whole gamut of practicalities of living. To think of  life without a personal computer or PC is quite impossible if you are not living an austere life of a hermit in the Himalayas. I won’t be surprised if even the yetis are also found toting ipads.

Those who say it will be a respite from screen addiction I will ask for how long ? If they say it will be a golden opportunity to hear the silence, immerse in nature, gaze at the sky , observe the bud flowering , guffaw with the neighbours, realise that the other members of the family exist too and paint the town red with all sorts of boisterous outdoor activities, my answer will be they are being highly delusional. Either you do all these things with the computer fully functional in your life or you don’t do them at all. You cannot all of a sudden start doing things you have not done in ages.

If you ask me how I will feel with my PC conked off or non existent I’ll say pretty uncomfortable and hugely handicapped.

To imagine a world without being overly dependent on machines is wallowing in Utopia. Either you consciously follow a daily routine of digital detoxification or stop fooling yourself that life without the PC will be heavenly. Grow up! Human civilization has come a very long way. How can anyone think of going back to a time of  inconvenience and discomfort?

To be very honest and unhypocritical it is far better to acknowledge the importance of the computer in our lives than cursing the damn equipment for stealing us from ourselves. Come to think of it name a field where computer is not put to application. From composition  of music to recording to creation of artwork let alone more critical works like matters of  governance, research and development, space study, weather forecasting, engineering marvels, medical breakthroughs and the works, computers are integral and essential.

In our country, digitization is rapidly growing and encompassing every aspect of day to day life – from applying/updating  personal identification cards to  grievance redressal related to administrative/non administrative matters and everything in between. Issuance of crucial documents like Death and Birth Certificates are also being processed and being provided online. Think of the convenience of not standing in long queues, not wasting time in scrolls of procedural formalities and above all avoiding the banal human interface, more specifically, when you are in mourning. 

Academic and non-academic classes are also being held online which saved millions of students during the pandemic. Online conferencing  has gone a long way saving employees from tour hassles and companies  from incurring enormous travelling expenses  thereby adding to profit and productivity. Even Yoga and other physical exercises can be followed online. Consider those who cannot leave their homes or even beds what a boon it is!

It has become fashionable to pander about life without the computer. Those who resort to such armchair philosophisation are most probably the ones addicted to it the most. So without beating around the bush, let’s confess that life without the computer is unthinkable. In case you feel too self alienated and claustrophobic with it rethink how you can instil work life balance without it.

And if you are touting drastic measures like burning down all the computers of the world and reverting to the primordial state of being – Beware !! Given human inclination of devising finer and finer electronic/mechanical means of assistance, to supplement its own limited capacities, if it is not the computer then it’s going to be something else faster, perhaps more intelligent and super intrusive.

What will the anti-computer bandwagon  going to do then?