Have you ever got the heavy feeling, when you read a text
message and consciously choose not to revert? Well, making a mental check of
you replying to a text and then forgetting to reply is a different scenario
altogether. The former deals with the urge to catch up on information, checkout
updates, read emails and so on.
Let us make it more experiential so that we analyze the behavior.
What do you feel after doing such an action? You feel weightless, relaxed and
peaceful. It can be compared to a feeling of a momentary moksha. The same feeling you get after a day’s hard
work. Next, what motivates you to repeat this behaviour? Well, in this virtual world
of social media boom, it is the constant need to stay updated. It like you’ve a
mental task list and you always want it to be ticked.
We can draw an analogy with the blackberry messenger on how
it became so popular and how the follower whats app is laughing all the way to
the bank. I’m not a psychologist to comment on this issue. Being an avid follower of social media
trends, a content writer and a having done a lot of self-introspection and a
series of long discussions has helped me to shape my opinion on the issue. In
fact, the new trend through confession pages and more non-anonymous form of
updates like statuses and twitter posts, people are more opiniated than ever. It is ideal for a democracy like
India where people are more aware about the issues. I look at it as a situation
where everyone is a writer with an assured audience as the connections are
constantly checking out their virtual social circles for whats new?
In fact, this obsession to be at the top of the pyramid in
this communication revolution has disarmed my self-control and whenever, I find
some free time, I’m hooked to reply to an email from some friend as the thought
conquers my mind. I’ve had a partial success with giving up blackberry, no
whats app, abandoning the phone and facebook for fortnights. However, I’m
convinced that this is a doomed battlefield as my friends and family wish to
communicate through these convenient channels. Ultimately, either they decide
the future ways to communicate and lead the paradigm shifts or I join them. The
medium and message has now become interchangeable…
