Mobile worlds

The film The Matrix presents an apocalyptic vision of the future: virtual reality computers enslave the human race in a digital replica o...

The film The Matrix presents an apocalyptic vision of the future: virtual reality computers enslave the human race in a digital replica of the real world called, appropriately, the matrix. When I saw the film recently at the PVR-Anupam Cinema in New Delhi8217;s Saket, I was not at all surprised by this Frankensteinish storyline about technology gone awry. For everyone in the movie theater, the downside of new technology was painfully evident as we tried in vain to watch the film.

Sitting directly behind me, a man was blabbering away on his cellular phone with his girlfriend, who wanted to know where they should meet after the movie. Suddenly the complicated dialogue on screen was upstaged by a fiery dialogue about the pros and cons of going out for ice cream. When the guy decided that they should simply meet at home, the movie was half over.And then he took another call.

Technology has a way of sneaking up on you, and when you least expect it, changing the way you live. Television did that when it came along,pulling people out of public spaces and into their homes. The Matrix suggests that even virutal reality technology has a downside: VR might someday trap people in entirely virutal worlds.

And now cellular phone technology seems to be messing things up, since it allows callers to carry on annoying private conversations in very public places 8212; movie theaters, trains, offices, restaurants, shopping centres. Of course, the technology itself is not to blame. The real guilt lies with the people who fail to observe norms of common decency. Businessmen interrupt face-to-face conversations when that black piece of plastic in their shirt pocket begins to beep, buzz, or jiggle. Theater-goers take phone calls in the middle of live performances. Commuters try to resolve fights at home by continuing the spat on the train to work. These people are the problem, not the phones.

I8217;m not saying these misguided cell-phone-users should be arrested or banished. But certainly their excuses should be. By far the most commonexcuse is business. When was the last time you saw a business person who wasn8217;t chained to his cell phone? Every-one has one in the corporate world. And they distribute their mobile numbers like candy to anyone and everyone on their ubiquitous business cards.

It is true that you may wish you had a cell phone when your boss calls to hand out a spur of the moment promotion. But it8217;s equally likely that he8217;ll call to offer a spur of the moment pink slip or early retirement. And the rest of the time, it8217;s probably that annoying client you did8217;t want to talk to anyway.

The other common excuse acirc;euro;ldquo;personal emergency acirc;euro;ldquo; rings truer than the business excuse. But it8217;s still over-used. Contrary to popular belief, a bad dream or stubbed toe does not qualify as a personal emergency. Wrecked cars, ambulance trips, burning buildings do qualify. Let8217;s stick to these.It seems like ages ago, but there was a time when people lived without any phones at all. They wrote long, beautiful letters and made house calls to say hi.When phones did come along, people still understood that they couldn8217;t reach a friend who was driving home or sitting in a movie theater.

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Of course, now it is possible to reach someone in his car or at the movies, and so we think it8217;s alright to do so. I mean, hey, it8217;s new technology. Society has to adapt, right?

Whether or not society does adapt, I8217;ll tell you one thing. The next time someone8217;s cell phone goes off in the middle of a good movie, I8217;m going to grab the cursed little phone, and smash it against the screen. So watch out!