IT'S THE NEED TO ESCAPE REALITY
“A
shot to kill the pain. A pill to drain the shame.
A
purge to end the gain. A cut to break the vein.
A
smoke to ease the crave. A drink to win the game.
An
addiction is an addiction, because it hurts the same.”
Unknown
My
youngest brother, Vivek, was one of those hyperactives on social media,
particularly on various WhatsApp groups. Known in family and friends circle for
his sociable nature, he loved the constant social conversation. In addition, he
loved all sorts of jokes, which he would share, like crazy, on WhatsApp groups.
His comments were instant and insane, very entertaining and even provocative.
And, all of a sudden,
the messages, jokes and forwards stopped coming from my brother… There was no
response from his end for the messages, jokes and forwards sent to him. He was
off the radar, all of a sudden… Days went by, weeks and then months. “What
happened,” I wondered.
It took his wife
to tell us what had happened: “He got fed up with it, and quit!”
Now, no WhatsApp,
no FB and no Insta… Only calls, SMS’s and e-mails! That’s where it had started…
That’s where, it seems, it has, now, ended!
“Can’t’ believe
you can stay without social media,” his friends and relatives tell him. But,
just like this lockdown, people around him have started believing in the
‘miracle’ – De-addiction.
My brother says, “I used to spend insane amount of time on so many groups. The atmosphere on these groups had become quite toxic with highly polarized views and heated arguments. The news and information shared was, often, fake, biased and disturbing. I was getting more and more drawn into the negative abyss each passing day. Most of all, my two young children were watching me, and, I didn’t like that thought. So, one day, I simply cut myself off from it."
My brother says, “I used to spend insane amount of time on so many groups. The atmosphere on these groups had become quite toxic with highly polarized views and heated arguments. The news and information shared was, often, fake, biased and disturbing. I was getting more and more drawn into the negative abyss each passing day. Most of all, my two young children were watching me, and, I didn’t like that thought. So, one day, I simply cut myself off from it."
Two days ago, I
saw a WhatsApp message from another friend of mine, a retired college
professor. “Deleted my FB account totally… I was finding it boring. Very happy
after the action… Wish I can do with WhatsApp, too.”
It brought a
smile on my face… “Very happy after the action!”
I replied:
“Right thing you did! So many times, I, too, had thought of doing it. Only
because of my Blog, I am still there on FB… Even WhatsApp has become a pain…
Let’s see.”
An
addiction is an addiction. The way we get into it and the way we get out of it
are identical for every kind of addiction. About the drug addiction, it’s said:
“It’s not the drugs that make a drug addict; it’s the need to escape reality.”
The more I think
about the social-media addiction, the more I get convinced, that the very need
to escape reality has made all of us, here, ‘addicts’…
We don’t like to
admit it… and, that’s another reality!
It’s also said: “Before
you can break out of prison, you must realize that you are locked up.”
Maybe, the point
of realization comes when we hit the lowest point… Till then, we will remain in
our lock-ups, and pretend to be free and happy!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: fauxels
Video: President's Choice
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