Proliferation of cellular technology has made one thing very clear. Now you can actually count all the people who are bored witless. Think about it. Carriers and device sellers now boast of their circulation and subscriptions to garner an even larger share of the consuming public.
Large portion of the conversations or email exchange or game play or video watching that happens now is (although a function of improvement of technology), of no drastic new value add. Moreover the people observed with device attachment syndrome seem to now share their boredom with others in a similar mindset.
It has simply added to the chatter on the airwaves with meaningless advertisements and coupons and promotions to zombies that have nothing better to do than stare at the latest version of rectangular glass. More customers get to win grass seeds by planting a cyber bush or raking e-leaves with no clue on what actual raking entails.
In fact one could argue that quality of life has deteriorated to the extent that people are getting killed (ones texting and ones on the sidewalk - subtext) while indulging in mobile device based distractions.
Their quality of life has shifted from physical interaction to device based interaction making it monotonous and rude in some cases.
The net consumption per household has shifted from buying fruits (apples included) to spending on the next electronic apple (take that GDP proponents). There was a news article that suddenly highlighted the dilemma faced by these modern families where eating out (family time) has taken a backseat to spend on mobile communications.
So while I am not voting to bring back snail mail or investing in letter writing stationary stocks I do think that people ought to give boredom a chance and avoid cellular decay.
Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry. Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while. Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...
I recommend the book 'How To Be Idle' by Tom Hodgkinson. In defense of boredom, or idling, to be more precise.
ReplyDeletestraightly added to bucket..meanwhile I looked up his wiki which is humorous where it sites - His philosophy of the Idle Parent is very much in tune with Slow parenting, although with a more light-hearted self-interest in drinking and sex. Wonder if that is in reference to the kids or parents?
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