So I was in a bank's waiting hall and one thing struck me. Almost everyone was fiddling with one mobile device or the other, phones, laptops, palmtops and other cool looking devices that I don't know their names. I myself was also busy chatting alternatively with one friend on whatsapp and with another on BBM. On my left was a guy who was playing games and on my right sat a child with his mum's smart phone also playing games. After a while I stopped my chats and just looked at the people in the hall and I started thinking.
No doubt, electronic gadgets have made our lives easier, people can talk to people thousands of miles away, you can get your job done in a matter of seconds, you can access the web and obtain whatever information you need and a bunch of other ways all these gadgets have made life simpler. But, it has also taken a very strong position in peoples' minds, attitudes and manner of thinking.
Over indulgence on these electronic gadgets can cause accidents. "I just wanted to check who was pinging me and I didn't see the man crossing the road. Am sorry I ran him over with my car."
"I just wanted to catch the last episode of Super Story but I didn't know when the baby crawled into the kitchen." These are just a few out of many occurrences.
Did you know that sitting in front of the television for long hours can cause obesity and redundancy. A lot of people, especially some men, spend a large portion of their time in front of the television either playing games or watching whatever it is that catches their fancy. Those that indulge in games buy the latest Play Station on board and make sure to finish all the levels at one sitting. Some others are movie or football addicts. And of course snacks and drinks make the whole affair a splendid one. So while they spend all this time sitting in one place, they are beckoning on obesity.
Has anyone noticed the kind of English grammar that youths of nowadays speak and write? Spoken - " When my dad said he was visiting, I was like why? And he was like, he needed to check up on me. But I was like, he didn't need to. So sha, I was like, dad seriously? You don't like need to come to my school. Like for real, it's sooo not like cool. You grab, dad?"
Written - Y R U 9ce 2 me?, I 4gt my fone in ma bag, Gd am Madam, au R U? Really?????!!!!!!
That is how someone I know mistakenly used this type of English in one of his exam papers and guess what happened. Your guess is as good as mine. Lol.
Don't get me wrong, technological advancement and its accompanying devices are all welcome developments but we human beings need to take control of how we use them otherwise they will take control of how they use us. Just imagine being controlled by your smartphone....... creepy, if you ask me.
