Changes around us

DEVELOPMENTS in technology require a multitude of changes. These may call for new machinery, a new production method or a new job skill.

I feel I am fortunate and I hope you feel the same way that our dynamic environment here in Cagayan de Oro requires more change. Although not to be mistaken as a techie, some of us are already heavy internet users.

By today’s standard, that would mean being online 24/7, whether in a Twitter promoting a project, checking on friends in Facebook, randomly browsing the net or just using the laptop as a source of entertainment.

Even at home or when waking up in the morning, that’s the first thing some do – check online, net surfing, looking at random things or just reading random articles.

Then, we can get in touch with old friends and family members abroad and communicate with them through e-mail through the fastest and affordable way.

Another add-on, we may enjoy social networking, web surfing, chatting and shopping online. Thus, we accomplish a lot of things and get to anywhere we want online with our dynamic lifestyle.

Technology has fruitful effects on our brains and communities as I have enumerated but we must be vigilant of its addiction, anti-social habit or being a techie.

For example, there are cellphone users who are so wedded to their cellphones, sleeping with them under their pillows and checking them constantly even when they are not ringing have come to the attention of families, friends and employers. We are accustomed that we turn off our cellphones upon entering bank premises.

In the more dynamic environments than Cagayan de Oro, a bar has a sign at the entrance: “You are now entering a tech and device free zone. Please refrain from using your cellphone inside this space.”

The staging of “Tech and Device Free” parties has also spread. A public relation company which has ruled that their employees turn off their cellphones from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. found that their productivity increased since the employees were more rested and alert during the daylight working hours.

Personally, I prefer that when a person is driving a vehicle, walking and crossing the street, he or she refrains from using the cellphone for safety reason. At home while eating, I demand to myself, my daughter Chibom, my two sons Chris and Claude that definitely no cellphone placed on our dining table, thus we can eat well, conduct and sustain conversation among us. Now that Chibom is married already and away from us, I pray that she carries this good habit.

Maybe for a change, we find time to reconnect with friends the good old fashioned way – over lunch or dinner, through squash meet-ups or over cocktails.

Another way is to concentrate on yoga, meditation or healthy cooking. Hopefully, these various socials and activities can unplug oneself from online social networks taking over one’s life and get intoxicated.

“Disconnecting to reconnect” is a smart social move. Especially that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of us!

(Send comments to dr.nirmla_motoomull@yahoo.com)