Emoticons can’t replace a friend’s ear-splitting grin

Everything feels familiar, normal, unremarkable, as it should be; I am in India. A country not for the faint-hearted as getting the simplest of things done, even if you are ready to pay and walk the extra mile, is anything, but plain sailing.

But deep in my heart I know the rewards for those who can navigate the hurdles and frustrations. Coming back home can be extremely fulfilling.

So until now, two weeks short of two months, I am still waiting for a micro-sim card for my smartphone (my first) to connect with my friends using Whatsapp. As I run out of patience, I am letting my soul breathe and relax before the next crash of Karma.

Karma crashes? Yes, I will crash into Karma. One minute tra la la tra la la and the next minute crash bang smash in a country that delivers end to end IT solutions worldwide. Every morning, I thank my lucky stars if my Wi-Fi connection (just 4mbps) works fine.

To be honest, at this moment, I am measuring the quality of my life to the speed of my internet. The fact that my next-door neighbour helped me find a maid, a cook, a laundry man, a milkman and sometimes drives me to a market where I can buy vegetables half the price does not figure on top five must-have things for a good life.

Stress levels go higher if my internet connection breaks while watching a YouTube video than if I lose cooling (read AC) and water. As I look around. I see our culture holistically and asks to what extent the technology that we carry in our pockets has evolved, and more importantly, how we, as humans, are evolving because of it.

The march of personal electronics has continued unabated ushering in new phones, tablets and ubiquitous smart devices. The continued evolution of smartphones laden with applications and programmes such as BBM, G-chat, Skype and Whatsapp raises the question as to whether face-to-face communication is under threat.

Second selves

One needn’t look much further than the person across from you on the bus or cafe to see the impact these devices have on the way we communicate with each other. We consult our devices at all times.

Think about our ‘second selves’ on Facebook. The point is our ‘second self’ stays online even when we are not there. And this raises the unusual question of how living this dual life impacts our ability to self-reflect.

Can these devices that alienate those around us, or actually make us more human? Our phones are wormholes in our pocket, connecting us in a practical and efficient way with loved ones. But the idea of ‘ambient intimacy’ — that we use Facebook and Twitter as a way to feel closer to people whom we care for, but are unable to participate as closely as we’d like to in real life -- is the last thing some of us want.

Pause and think of where technology will go in the near future, and how this will shape our interactions with each other. Three states in US have now passed laws permitting driverless cars (being developed and tested by Google). How will this change the way we work, and how we spend time with others on the road?

Motor vehicles and drivers’ relationships are likely to change significantly in the next 10 to 20 years, perhaps more than they have changed in the last hundred years. Will voice-based services create a more human-like interaction with devices that change our perceptions of technology?

I can see our life and our devices are becoming integrated faster than we have imagined. So the next time I have that feeling that a part of me is missing when my internet connection breaks down three times before I type in 700 odd words ... at least I will know why.

On second thought, I know technological detachment is becoming today’s reality. But 10 texts can’t even begin to equal an hour spent chatting with a friend over lunch. And a smiley-face emoticon is cute, but it could never replace the ear-splitting grin of my best friend.

Face time is important, people. We need to see each other. I’m going to ring the doorbell of my neighbour right now and ask her if she wants to join me for a walk!

Suparna Dutt D’Cunha is a freelance journalist based in India.