Where has all the life gone?
Not really knowing where to start and where to end i will try to concentrate on the obvious, although it influences so many things that i might have to jump around a bit.
Watching a TV advert about a tablet with ‘parental control’ function in order to limit the usage for your kids so they got some time to experience ‘real life’ makes me realize how dominant these devices have become in our daily lives. Sitting at a coastline restaurant overseeing a beautiful seaside afternoon whilst having two teenagers ‘daddling’ with their smartphones in front of us without speaking a word or enjoying the moment has become a common scene, people walking into you whilst ‘checking’ their messages is another very annoying situation.
But one of the worst moments you can possibly experience is the one where you really want to go out and have fun in a beautiful club dancing with others to music that turns you on and you realize that half of the people around you got their phones up in the air filming the moment to later enjoy it back at home to not fall into a deep depression because the holiday is over. ‘Hello? You did not enjoy it in the first place because you were busy recording! So why bother coming here? Just google it’…
And all the social networks are so ‘cool’ to share the moment with others that do not have the chance to be there – well you just ruined your own experience as well by not living it but ‘sharing’ it, ‘liking’ it, ‘posting’ it, WTF?
Sometimes i see a sparkle of hope, especially as websites like ‘Second Life’ did not get the massive participation they probably expected (but definitely had in mind). If you can’t live your ‘First Life’ then what is it all about – a digital fantasy? OK, no problem with some gaming and diversion, but all at its time and definitely only in a certain dosage.
Life is not about sharing in the first place, it is about enjoying the ride at any moment without taking oneself too serious. ‘Think you’ is one of my favourite quotes lately, it is not about being egoistic but about being conscious, real or whatever you want to call it, definitely everything but seeking satisfaction behind a smart screen.
And always remember – you are in Ibiza, on holiday, right here, right now, this is your ride, join others for real – because life is what you make it.
Tags: Andreas Simon, bla bla bla, Editors Letter