I blinked and gazed hard.
My younger sister hollered for the second time, "the GREEN arrow, the green FLASHING ARROW Aapi!".
My eyes hunted diligently for the "green" "flashing" "arrow". My mind jogged in compliance - flipping through all its visual memories and searching for every shade of green it has ever captured; not to mention every arrow shape ever seen.
Nothing. The colorful animated screen of Sim City stared back at me, frozen in time. The same joyful music repeated itself over, almost mocking me. I could not find the green flashing arrow I needed to click to move to the next level of "training". I held my iPhone like a ticking bomb - desperate to be able to work it and look intelligent.
"HERE it is!!! Can't you see this green flashing arrow?! Its so obvious you need to click THIS to move ahead. Its green and its flashing! Come on! Even our 3 year old niece can do this!" My heart sank as the next barrage of instructions followed.
This was a game I was trying to get used to. I want to make it very clear that I did not purchase the iPhone. It was handed down. I also want to make it clear that I am not a murderer of technology. I just cannot understand why these days new things never get old enough for us to get used to them.
OK may be I don't deserve to be born into this century. But take a look at those who care about that green flashing arrow. Buying and getting used to innovations is more important than using them. And the quicker they learn how to use them, the smarter they prove themselves to be - until the next production line hits the stores and they burn a month's pay to buy and "figure out" the latest model.
I know I am not cut out for life on the internet, but I don't - I honestly don't think any of us can survive this age of "hyper-communication" without being overtaken by it. Lets face it, talking to your car to book a reservation is cheap and quick and error free. No doubt the obvious thing to do. But what will life be like if we really take all the people out of it? And what will generation after generation turn into if we stop talking to each other because some guy on Wall Street thinks its expensive?
What really annoys me the most is not the innovation, but the lack of it. My longest conversation of the day is on Whatsapp. My funniest moment an SMS. Most anticipated, a phone call. We could do this all in person. But everybody wants to save time for other more important, non-human things. Like finding that green flashing arrow so they can build their own fake city. And that seems like a totally unnatural way to spend one's evening.
But I continue to join in nonetheless. Well at least not knowing where to click buys me a conversation with my little sister now and then... if that is what it takes.
My younger sister hollered for the second time, "the GREEN arrow, the green FLASHING ARROW Aapi!".
My eyes hunted diligently for the "green" "flashing" "arrow". My mind jogged in compliance - flipping through all its visual memories and searching for every shade of green it has ever captured; not to mention every arrow shape ever seen.
Nothing. The colorful animated screen of Sim City stared back at me, frozen in time. The same joyful music repeated itself over, almost mocking me. I could not find the green flashing arrow I needed to click to move to the next level of "training". I held my iPhone like a ticking bomb - desperate to be able to work it and look intelligent.
"HERE it is!!! Can't you see this green flashing arrow?! Its so obvious you need to click THIS to move ahead. Its green and its flashing! Come on! Even our 3 year old niece can do this!" My heart sank as the next barrage of instructions followed.
This was a game I was trying to get used to. I want to make it very clear that I did not purchase the iPhone. It was handed down. I also want to make it clear that I am not a murderer of technology. I just cannot understand why these days new things never get old enough for us to get used to them.
OK may be I don't deserve to be born into this century. But take a look at those who care about that green flashing arrow. Buying and getting used to innovations is more important than using them. And the quicker they learn how to use them, the smarter they prove themselves to be - until the next production line hits the stores and they burn a month's pay to buy and "figure out" the latest model.
I know I am not cut out for life on the internet, but I don't - I honestly don't think any of us can survive this age of "hyper-communication" without being overtaken by it. Lets face it, talking to your car to book a reservation is cheap and quick and error free. No doubt the obvious thing to do. But what will life be like if we really take all the people out of it? And what will generation after generation turn into if we stop talking to each other because some guy on Wall Street thinks its expensive?
What really annoys me the most is not the innovation, but the lack of it. My longest conversation of the day is on Whatsapp. My funniest moment an SMS. Most anticipated, a phone call. We could do this all in person. But everybody wants to save time for other more important, non-human things. Like finding that green flashing arrow so they can build their own fake city. And that seems like a totally unnatural way to spend one's evening.
But I continue to join in nonetheless. Well at least not knowing where to click buys me a conversation with my little sister now and then... if that is what it takes.
