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Wake up and smell the roses

Head Rambles Posted on by

There is an advertisement running on the television these nights.

As I always mute the television and barely look at the screen during the breaks, I don't know what company has placed the advertisement but the imagery struck me as a great illustration of one of society's big problems.

The scene is a public park [I think].  There is an expanse of open grass with trees around.  In the foreground is a park bench with a bloke sitting there.  The bloke is staring at the palm of his hand as images flash across it showing presumably sports results, news headlines and Farcebook updates.  A mobile phone materialises in his hand an obviously the message is that this phone is the one item that will make the bloke's happiness complete.

My reaction is that if I were sitting on that park bench I would be smelling the grass, admiring the trees and basking in the peace and tranquility of the place.  But all this bloke apparently wants to do is read headlines and get sports results?  Does the world stop if he doesn't read them?  Will his world crash around his ears if he misses what his pals are up to on Twitter?

I have seen this phenomenon so many times in advertisements.  They are all screaming about tablet computers "making our lives complete", "keeping us connected", "helping us to live" or giving us the chance to "share" everything. What is this obsession with sharing?  Do I give a flying fuck what my friends are up to at this moment?  Just as important, do they give a flying fuck what I'm up to?  Why this obsession with being "connected" all the time?

I love peace and quiet.  I value my privacy.  If I want to sit here all day picking my nose and scratching my arse, does the world really need to know?  If I want to see a photograph of someone I'll ask them for it.  If I want to find out what someone had for breakfast I'll connect to Farcebook at some stage over the coming days or weeks and find out then.

And these people who have this compulsion to share their entire lives with the entire world are the very first to scream about "invasion of privacy".  They post a photograph in the public domain and then squeal like stuck pigs if someone else uses it.  Serves 'em right, I say.

I see "researchers" are getting in on the mobile phone kick now.  Apart from giving you cancer, premature death, squinty eyes and a hernia, mobile phones now give you "text neck".  It's a load of bollox of course [the human neck is designed to support the head and is quite flexible provided one isn’t a head-banger] but with a bit of luck a few sheeple who believe every word they read will be suckered into binning their phones.

Maybe they'll discover that there is life outside the Interweb?  Maybe they'll rediscover the joys of peace, quiet and tranquility?

I doubt it though.

 

Comments

Wake up and smell the roses — 17 Comments

      • sorry..quality iscrap. I have the dvd with it on but no youtube account to upload it too…oh well he is hilarious and always bang on best of all one of lifelong friends cannot understand a word and she still laughs at him.

  2. Recently I had to visit a friend in hospital.  

    I found it remarkable that more than 90% of people, as they left the hospital building, immediately referred to, or used, their portable telephones.

     

    It was if their lives were controlled by them.

     

    I carry a telephone whilst traveling – but switched off as I only use it in emergencies.    I have owned it for four years and have used it (if my rememberer is correct) not more that five times.

    • Different generations the mobile allows you to speak with those you like no matter where or when you are its the ultimate example of commucation enabling its not a hamper to it this is why people seem controlled by it because everything important to you can be on that screen and theirs no shame to that

      • I have no problem with mobile phones – they are damned handy sometimes and I sometimes carry one myself [when I remember and when the battery isn't flat].

        It's the other things I'm talking about.  Sharing pictures and "status" and whathaveyou.  What is so important about keeping up to date with everything?  Why not wait of the news on television/radio, or buy a paper?  Unless war breaks out, it can surely wait?

        • Because frankly they are all dead technology or media they just dont know it yet why limit yourself to the opinion pieces of the ever more dubiously called news or the papers when you can easly search out what interests you yourself from the comfort of your own smart phone and not be subjected to other's bias's ?.

          As for sharing pics and what have you well people have done that since we could its just incredibly easy now and no less appealing 

          • Granted!  But I still maintain that the news [OK, from the Interweb, not meeja] can wait until one gets home?

            Indeed people have shared photographs for decades but there is one huge difference – in the past, people shared carefully chosen photographs that were taken with care [because film and developing are expensive] whereas now people point their mobile phones at any old crap and immediately pump it out to everyone regardless.

            • Thats true believe me iv been sorely disappointed by any number of "really nice pictures of my pussy" fb posts than i can even tell you 🙁 

              Its just easy people always do whats easy in extremes i really cant think of a better explanations its there its easy so you do it 

  3. Facebook is a joke alright for exhibitionism. If I have to use a social network  of any value I would use Google+.

     It can be  practical and useful

  4. Imagine a time machine bring an illustrious person from the past, such as da Vinci, to the current day. Explain to him you have a small handheld device that can connect you to the sum of human knowledge. You use it to look at pictures of cats playing pianos.  

    • As someone one commented – billions spent on the wonders of satellite technology to enable us to watch reruns of "I love Lucy"!

      • Thats good though our technology should be used for the mundane as much as it is for the extraordinary imho every thing is there if you so wish it and if not then your free to watch episodes of star trek while you sit at the river side how wonderful is that 

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