Do you have WhatsApp or Viber? Yes, my wife is a teacher!
What is that title all about? Well, to be honest, it is from a conversation I had yesterday. I was speaking to a man helping me with some work where I live, and I wanted to send him a picture of something I wanted him to help me build. I had a picture on my phone and wanted to send it to him. But, he didn't have an email address. I guessed he for sure would have WhatsApp or Viber, but when I asked about it, his answer was that his wife as a teacher!!!???!!!!??
I stood there amazed, and unfortunately, I have got to say that I had some quite judgmental thoughts in my head at that moment. How can it be that a person alive in Europe in our present world today hasn't got an email address, and much less, he has no clue about what WhatsApp and Viber is? Is it possible to live in that way at all?
Once again, it came to my mind more than twice... how stupid can a person become... I am sad to admit this, but I guess that is how I felt. But, I have been thinking about the situation quite a lot and often since yesterday. I still don't understand how a person can live so far from technology and "helping" tools, but there is one part of it that makes me kind of envious.
I use the computer on Sundays...
I spoke with the guy once again earlier today to see if the email I sent to his wife had arrived with the picture. They hadn't checked... Because it was kind of important, I told them to check it, and then it became clear that it hadn't arrived. So, I asked the wife about whether or not I could send it with WhatsApp or Viber instead... she didn't have any of those, but at least she had Facebook Messenger. So, I got to send the picture to the wife, who then gave it to the husband.
But, as I spoke to the husband, he told me, he only uses the computer once a week, on Sundays. He is reading some news then, and that is it. Once again, he managed to surprise me.
The guy I am speaking about will probably never win a Nobel prize because of his bright mind, but still... I feel kind of envious.
Doesn't it sound wonderful to live without direct communication tools like Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber? And without the Internet on your phone? It sounds like complete freedom. Nobody to interrupt you all day long, but simple and pure, freedom?!
I live as a prisoner to all my smart devices, checking them all day along, and instead of paying attention to my kids, I keep checking my email, checking the cryptocurrency market, and opening my favorite news site for the 20th time in the same day.
Is there a middle way?
If you want to live and work in today's world, I don't think you can do so without using modern tools and communication methods. But, there has got to be a way to live with them, without being a slave to them? It isn't easy, and I don't manage to do so myself.
But, in my dream world, I can use those tools for good (when needed), and during the rest of the time, I leave them alone and forget about their existence.
What are your thoughts? What would you think about a person that has no clue and understanding of what WhatsApp and Viber is all about? After all, that is what his answer reflected... he had no clue about what they were all about.
It wouldn't be cool because the same way you had thoughts about him will be the same way thoughts will roll in people's mind about you and some will say it aloud to you :)
That is for sure true... but I guess if you live in a world totally without social media and those platforms, maybe you don't really care?!
Before the lockdown, I used to go camping and hiking a lot. On one of my recent trips, I camped in a remote place where there was no mobile connection and no way for connecting to the internet.
I found it very liberating for the first few days. I spent time with my friends and we talked and laughed a lot.
However, I did miss my connectivity and was glad to be home. I logged on and immediately had loads of emails, messages, posts to catch-up with.
It is nice to have a break some times but I could never be disconnected.
I know the feeling... when you have been away from Internet for a while, it just feels like a drug when you get the chance to check your emails again, check the bitcoin value and so much more. But, it really feels good to get away as well, to escape all of it, and enjoy the quietness of a world without social media and direct communication all the time.
That guy is lucky :)
I would never had thought that a highly advanced country like Europe will still have people who are not so advanced, there are so many people like that in my country (I don't envy them), but I also believe that we should be able to control and limit our connections to social media networks.
Yeah, I guess this is the so called golden middle way, which is about finding the right control when it comes to what you use... instead of the things actually using you!
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Things change with time and this is the of these highly advanced tools for easy and better communication. It seems difficult to imagine a life without these apps like WhatsApp, telegram, etc and we have to agree that our life has become easy provided we are using in with discipline.
Maybe in fourth world countries if they exist (i mean countries lower than underdeveloped) people could do without it, but living without social media in a civilised world will be regarded as not normal.
Not normal, but it is so interesting to see that so many people in the modern world envy those who live without all those tools we have today...
I think it will be pretty difficult to work in today's world without the use of an email ? Maybe they have their reasons anyways.
Yeah, really hard to work without the tools, that is for sure. So if you really want to be successful, you will for sure need to be able to use email and so.
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