Millions of messages are sent daily through the use of a mobile phone. They buzz, they zip, and they hum their way past us, moving at impeccable and frightening speeds. We do not see them move but we do feel them arrive. Whether it is in the form of a subtle chirp, metallic ring, or incessant vibration, the phone draws our attention. Our eyes light up emotionally and physically as we are informed of our importance elsewhere. We dive into them immediately, so as not to hinder the continuity of this operation. Our fingers move at the speed of light because they are accustomed to the rows and pathways of the illuminated buttons. It is a marvelous sight to see: resting in the center of both the person’s tangible grasp and their mental attention is a device with which to communicate.
If only we would just look up to see that we are falling into a rigid form like everyone else. People surround us every day; whether they are people we know or strangers, they all carry a potential to communicate. But we don’t look up because we deeply buried in pit of loneliness and isolation, exempt from any direct contact with others. In our grasp rests the shovel that got us to this low point, but we see that it has disguised itself in an unfamiliar handheld form. We pitter-patter our thumbs across the screen typing “PLEASE HELP!” but it seems to have auto corrected to “lol IKR!” In a desperate hope to reach others we continue to divulge ourselves into these machines. If we took a minute to look up we would see the hands diving down, arm length, into the pit, waiting to be filled by their victimized reciprocals; the hands waiver, having yet to be filled. They wait for only a few more moments and then retreat in an attempt to rescue others. Our eyes have not left the screen and our body, drawn in, seems to be hunched over it, but our mind is held hostage. We are detained by our devices.
Image Sources
Image 1- http://i4.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article4963764.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/iPhone.jpg
Cover Photo-http://i4.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article4963764.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/iPhone.jpg