Smartphones are surely smart, but the users can no longer be termed as smart! We find newer versions of smartphones in the market every other day and the fad for obtaining the latest one has become a compulsion not only among teenagers, but also among adults. How long does this latest model last though?

Smartphones come with hundreds of features that makes us ‘smarter’ as we spend time finding new apps and learning new techniques. But, in all this, we are losing a lot of precious time that could be otherwise be spent with family, at the work place or doing something totally innovative or creative.

It is time to get smart and set aside our smartphones for a while and sit back and think. Where are we headed to? Technology and progress in the virtual world will not lead us anywhere. We are losing out on important relationships and slowly forgetting how to live life naturally with zest.

Time is something none of us can buy back. What is gone is gone. Phones have become man’s best friend now. What happened to friendly get-togethers at cafes and outings? Well, sadly all that still happens, but each one is involved in their phone and very little conversation or exchange happens. The other day, I saw a couple sitting at a restaurant. While they were waiting to be served, the woman started taking selfies while the man looked on. It has been a while since I saw a couple engaged completely in a conversation.

Let not smartphones become smarter than us. They are just a tool, so let’s use them like a tool and not become a tool to a small piece of metal and plastic.

It seems so exhilarating when we operate the phone and find the world at our fingertips. Yet, quality time, sensitivity and emotions are all lost. It is really difficult to ignore the beeps, ringtones and tweets, then it is time to turn on airplane mode and enjoy some real silence with no interference. It’s necessary for us to experience a world far away from the virtual world... a world that is real and so full of love and emotions. It is waiting for us.

- The reader is a novelist based in Mumbai, India.