Have you ever visited a factory? Or a workshop ?(not the scientific kinds!). If you have you can well imagine and if you haven’t you could assume that at such a place there are plenty of processes going on. There is a loud constant noise usually associated with these various processes. And it is this din, the persistent noise, that stand out, and is in the background of everything that happens there.
In our age there is a din of different kind. An electronic din, that is at the background of all our activities, our lives. The din that is have become incorporated into our lives so seamlessly that we might not acknowledge it. But right from the waking up in the morning when you either check that mobile phone for messages, to that Facebook to check notifications, to that television to check for news, to the ever switched on laptop at work, and then in the evening the same laptop for entertainment, not to forget the hundreds of messages on that smart phone, the sound emanating from that iPod into your ears, there is an electronic din.
Compliance with these equipments, these mediums might have taken some time initially, akin to the new factory worker who finds it very difficult to do his work owing to the din, but gradually we come to adapt. But is this adaptation a natural process? Is this adaptation to this persistent electronic noise enhancing our efficiency? Is this truly helping us?
At a certain level it definitely is. The ease of the e-world are unparalleled and it must be lauded for that. But we have been so carried away by what new technology (read internet, gadgets, etc) have for us, that we do not realize what we are missing in the bargain. Today we do not want a period of time of nothingness, however brief it is. Case in point is, how many times do you look into your phones daily or check your Facebook page or your e mails.
It might be difficult to comprehend what difference does the electronic noise make? The brain might cheat us to believe the opposite but the fact is this noise is akin to any other noise. It reduces efficiency at some level, it makes attention span shorter, it makes us more superficial, it reduces patience.
Take a little time off, shut some systems if required, and ponder over the issue. Only then one might just have little realization of what this article tries to convey.
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