The bright side

As I write this, I am concerned about the impacts of technology we are having in our lives. It's huge. The impact. Today we are so unaware that we don't even know what's the impact of technology. The constant stream of input in our lives does not make us comfortable with boredom and silence. While I also agree there's a level of coordination that involves with our team members that we want to do. I also think structured form of deep work is also equally important. Along with a lot of writers, we are going to talk about the negative impacts of technology in our lives. 

Negative impacts of technology

While I do understand, certain technologies do help you in terms of learning new things, instant messaging, etc. However, there are a lot of negative effects if you consider user standpoint here. Let's take instagram for simplicity. With instagram, let's see the features. One is you can see the story of everyone around the world. If you have an exam that's coming up tomorrow, and you see a story of a friend who is enjoying his holidays in Dubai, it's natural that you will feel bad about it. You have to study for an exam, doing a tough thing. While someone is enjoying his or her holiday in Dubai. So we come to the first conclusion that instagram creates a state of restlessness and wanting to be somewhere else when you are here. 

I have written extensively about reels in one of my blog post. But take reels for an example. The short form content that takes our brain from one context to the another in 15 seconds is unhealthy for our brain. It trains our brain to switch context within 15 seconds and we are never able to concentrate on something hard because of that. 

What about posts and content all over the app. I know for a matter of fact that in my feed, there aren't just people whom I follow, but also people from the outside world who are influencers that come in my feed. The women are extremely attractive. It can be a result of filters and camera angles as well. But it gives me a distorted view of reality. I am sure there are attractive people in the world, but I do not want to have them on my phone that I carry in my pocket everywhere. Does it even make sense for me to look at these influencers? On the other hand, there are also influencers that give you a way to follow good habits, think positively, be non-chaotic, etc. But the idea that if you want the good things, you also have to deal with the bad influencers and cut them out well. 

Manipulation. I also think that instagram without a doubt has a way to manipulate your brain. Why do I say this. You must have seen those astrology videos on instagram that talks about your horoscope. No one on instagram has the right to tell your future. There are videos about mulank (which means numbers) on instagram and based on your birth date, they determine your characteristic. For an example, if someone is talking about number 5, which is my birth date, they will talk about how these people happen to be passionate, and someone who wants freedom. Now this type of thing is very general, and it involves a lot of people. While some people in number 5 might not even agree to this, but still it does appeal to a general audience. So the whole general population will be like she is right. But in reality she is just saying something so general that you will relate to this. 

What to do with technology? 

You might ask me what should I do with technology then. Is it a blessing or a curse. With technology on the other hand, there are a lot of positives that the world has gotten. For example, I can watch course videos from Harvard, MIT and Stanford right on youtube. Some of their best courses are available for free. I can download their syllabus and almost feel like I am graduating from their college. 

With websites like libgen, anna's archive(check open-slum.org for status), pdf drive, etc. We can download as many books as possible. Almost all of the books are available in ebook format. So, yes there are things that we can do with technology that advances us and makes us better. So look at the brighter side of tech. 

With youtube you can learn any course you want. You want to learn webdevelopment, there are youtube channels specifically dedicated for that. You want to learn guitar, there are youtube channels that teach you guitar as well. It's a different thing that the practice and the feedback part is something you need to take care of. You want to learn about making movies, there are videos on filmography. So we need to look at the brigher side of the coin. I am sure there are negatives, but you need to be focused towards the positives.

There are so many subjects for which we have flash cards as well. So if you want to remember something. For example, you can have so many quizzes in quizzlet and you can test your knowledge on that. These are all the things that I know. I am sure there are more things on the internet. That are useful and beneficial to the society.

You can also book cabs through internet. You book an uber through your phone and the car comes within 10 minutes. That is technology for you. You can read blogs and thoughts of other people about a topic on the internet. It's beautiful. You can read reviews of people on restaurants. You can do online shopping through amazon. For an example, the keyboard that I am writing with, that is bought through amazon and the keyboard arrived in 2 days. It's amazing what technology can do. 

You can do massage using a technology. Like I said, there are so many things I might not know in terms of technology and I have not yet discovered on what we can do. 

Using robinhood and other stock broking apps, you now do not have to go through a stock broker. You can buy and sell stocks as and how you wish. There are 1000s of apps about fitness, about managing your time, your todo list, also the app that I use forest, that helps me focus and track my focus. With whatsapp you can make a phone call to someone who is miles away from you in a different country. There was a time when one had to do ISD(I guess something like this) where you go to the PCO booth and call someone who is international.

So my dear friends, I am not against technology, I am for technology when used in the right way. There are possibilities in the technology space that we need to discover and we need to use technology in a way that's beneficial to us.

'

Brigher side

To this I want to conclude a more general principle. Like they say, every coin has 2 sides. The general principle is that everything in the world has 2 sides to it. It's just the way you look at it. It's our perspective that makes all the difference. We see the world with a filter, that filter and that lens are our thoughts, opinions and beliefs. You might see one thing from one angle, someone can see it from a different angle. For an example, if someone looks at cricket stumps from the front view, they will see 3 stumps. But if someone is looking for it from the sides, they will only see one stump to aim at. So one has to consider the viewpoints. Everyone has a different perspective to the world and that is okay. 

Similarly, in life we should choose the brighter side of things. For example, you might have a life situation you are dealing with. Either there was a loss of a job, loss of a loved one, or a loss in a cricket game, you need to look at the bright side of things. Maybe loss of a job means that you get time to spend with yourself. Your own thoughts. Your own dark sides and also gives you the independence to learn anything in the world. This new learning can develop new insights. Which can convert into a better job eventually. Loss of a loved one, is a tough to describe. Maybe it teaches you how to deal with loss itself in life. The loss does not mean the end of the world, but your ability to continually give in the face of this loss. It teaches you not to be depressed when people go away. It's about life, and continuing to grow and give your best gifts to the world. Loss in a cricket match is a learning. It might tell you about a skill that you need to improve. It might tell you about the nerves you need to work with.

So one has to take a look at the bright side of things. 

Friends let's take a look at opportunity in adversity every single time. 

Situations: 

- Not promoted at work. What's the opportunity here? Maybe it's an opportunity to ask yourself where do I need to change. What do I need to improve in terms of skill? Is personality a problem or something else? 

- Did not win a game: Opportunity? Maybe it's a good thing. Maybe you did not take the game too seriously and started learnhing to accept defeats.

- Girlfriend/Boyfriend left - Maybe its time to introspect and see what can be done better. It's a good thing because that gives you independence and you will have your own thoughts to deal with this. 

"Joh hota hai acche ke liye". This is a formula that I usually like applying in my life. Whatever happens in life, happens for the good. 

Like I have said, that everything in life in just a stimulus. But our response to it will determine our destiny. So think postively and choose positivity.

Keep smiling. Hope you all have a good day ahead !