"Challenge Accepted." || A Week Without A Computer
Have you ever been to a gun fight with a knife before? I doubt you have ever even seen a gun fight (unless you are an actual soldier). And I am not even talking about seeing them through those electronic boxes we all call TV.
Speaking of electronic devices, I would like to share my little story with you. Afterwards, I will be sharing with you how I may be without computing devices. Do not worry, there are no guns nor knives.
I was doing my thing, taking a jog as I always do every morning (in my dreams), and then this text came in. The text was alerting me of a transaction I had to complete. Binance was informing me that someone had seen that the USD/NGN rate had spiked again, and the buyer was willing to sell off some USDT.
I stopped in my tracks to attend to this buyer's urgent need (more like mine). And that was when Emmanuel, my cousin whom I was having the jog with this time, said to me, "Bro, can you even do without your phone for a week?"
I responded to him, "Is that a challenge I smell, hmmm?"
"You dare to present me with such allegations that I cannot function without this pathetic computer."
"You mean to tell me that I am subject to this little machine that I have spent many years on this planet before?" I continued.
"Yes, I dare you to leave it for a week." -The challenger.
"Challenge accepted." Mark this day. We shall meet again in seven days. " -The defender.
Tenor
I completed the transaction and turned off my phone immediately. I clearly had not thought this through. But we move!
We got home, prepared breakfast, got one or two things done, and then it was time to eat. We had our plate of rice, garnished with vegetables, fish sauce, plantain, eggs, and, to top it all off, large pieces of chicken.
"Damn, you can cook." Emma said to me. "No dey whine me jare," I replied, humbly chuckling. (Do not flatter me, please.) And then we proceeded to eat. But I felt something was off.
I never eat without having something else to do. And that something else was always "Netflix 'n' chill."
At the very moment I realised this, I looked at my phone on our table, and then I slowly looked at Emma's face, only to find Emma devouring his piece of chicken, looking at me with a sinister look on his face.
"Is there a problem, sir?" Emma said to me.
"No, sir. "Everything is perfectly fine." I responded.
Emma then proceeded to give me a malicious grin. Which he did terribly at. He looked like a clown without the red nose.
There was no collateral involved in this challenge, but we both knew the consequences of losing this kind of challenge. The loser will not see the end of it from the winner.
We continued with our breakfast with stern looks, as we both understood the situation; I was going to find this quite hard.
After breakfast, I went on to lie on the bench outside to enjoy the satisfying air. Normally, I'd be on my phone blogging, trading, watching a movie to review, playing chess, or watching educational videos. But I had no idea of what to do since I could not use my phone.
Tenor
A few hours later, I had fallen asleep. I woke up to the sound of the blender. Emma was making one of his "healthy" smoothies again. He never makes mine because he knows how much I do not like his tasteless recipe.
I had just woken up, so there was no going back to sleep. I went on to meet Emma on the other side of the wall.
"You know what, one week seems too far. One day, in fact, is too long. " I said to him.
"Okay, I am not sure I understand your accent." He sarcastically replied.
"You win! Okay? So let's move on. " I conceded defeat.
I turned on my phone to find that I had missed a lot of trades, had too many unread messages, and all.
In this day and age, going without electronic devices (particularly smartphones) is akin to attending a gunfight with a knife. The digital age now pervades almost everything; businesses, schools, churches, and so on. And we all know that the power of today's communication technology is critical to thriving in this world.
I do not mean to say that one cannot survive without these electronic devices, but that they have now become things that are somewhat indispensible. For some of us, we depend on our computing devices to stay at the top of our games.
I do practically almost everything with my computing devices. My phone helps me keep doing things while I am mobile, as the name implies. I do my photography and videos on it, I play games on it (I have to unwind sometimes), and other things that are much easier with a smartphone. But my PC is mainly where I do most of m blogging, chatting, and other CPU intensive things.
So to willing want to go a week without my gadgets is not something I would normally think of. Unless there be some urgent requirement for it. Maybe went I need to go "zen" mode.
ℍ𝕖𝕪, 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕥, 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥, 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘, 𝕠𝕣 𝕦𝕡𝕧𝕠𝕥𝕖. 𝕀𝕥'𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕.
I have had to go without my computer for a week and it was not only weird, but it also seemed very unproductive because a lot of my marketing is done online as well as work communication. There's really no getting around it these days and with Covid having moved so many people to working remotely, it's becoming more common to work from home.
The worst part though is that even though we are the most connected we've ever been in our lives via technology, I also find that there is a huge disconnection as well.
I've sat in a room where members of a family were gathered together for a weekend visit and I watched as each one of them lost interest in the conversation and one by one they started taking out their phones and the conversation trailed off to nothing. It is very strange to also see a group of friends gathered around a table at a restaurant but paying each other no attention because they're all on their phones or taking photos of their food. It's a fine line. Yes we depend on them for a lot these days, but they shouldn't be replacing one on one contact because then we become slaves to them.
This is another angle
Deep words. True
But what can be done?
People need to recognize what they are doing and adjust their habits. Is that going to happen though? Doubtful, but we need to try and get them to see it if they are becoming that dependent on their devices.
Yes. At least, if they do see it from that perspective, they may try to find away to incline towards being less dependent on their devices.
I totally agree with you on the disconnection. I mean, the world has never really been more disconnected in that sense than ever before. People have not lost sight of the necessity to interact physically. Everybody now hides behind their screens. It used to be common among youths, but it is now clear that it applies to everybody.
There is a fine line between connection and communication. And people tend to miss it a lot! I am not sure I am using the right words (help me if you can), but I am sure you get my point.
The scenarios you have given are exact examples of how it is now. I am a young chap, but I fear going out to meet people I do not know. Why? Because I just know that there may not be that connection that should be created.
Some people are more interested in the clicks and follows from the photos they post on social media. Or they sometimes think that it is easier to communicate via text. I just do not know how that works well for them.
The more people get overly used to the "texty" form of communication, the more they lose the ability to connect in reality, or should I say, physically?
I really do not know if what I am saying actually makes some sense. I am only trying to land at the same point as you did, only coming from a different angle. Anyway, thank you for your amazing comments this evening.
I just sent some Ecency points your way!
You and I are on the same page. It's just unfortunate that it's come to that, but if we want anything different, it's up to us to change things.
Thanks for the comment. Have a lovely day
Yes. To see the change we want, we have to be the change.
It is 2030hrs over here. I guess it's a beautiful Tuesday morning for you over there.
Have a lovely day over there, and I will have a good night rest. Thank you.
This device are part of us, they help bring out who we are and what we've got, take for instance you can write in your head but don't have the tools to bring out the words in your head, well except you talk, and that's no longer writing but a speech.
You can play the guitar but no guitar to produce a melodious tone, or perhaps you saw a nice spot and wish to have it as a memory but camera or phone to snap.
This devices are part of us, they help us perform functions swiftly and effectively
Indeed they are indispensable.
Excellent analogy, brother. You may not be able to share what you have if you do not have the right tools. Even your speech, if you want to speak to a wider audience, may go through some digital devices. So the analogy still stands.
The fact remains that gadgets have now come, and they have come to stay. They have even grown to become extensions of our beings. Extentions that we may require to do certain things They are indispensable indeed.
Thank you for your amazing contribution.
The truth of the matter is that things now flow so fast, information comes and goes so quickly that if you are not prepared many things will just be passing you by. And the only way to do all this is with the phone. It will be a long week indeed.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
It is quite difficult to catch up with what's going on in the world; the trends, the dips and the pumps, the happenings and all. So to not be without a tool that can help you easily connect to these things is a risky ball game, if you are looking to thrive in the digital space. It sure will be a long week.
Thank you for reading.
Well said. It is askin to a gunfight with knife.
Masterpiece 😆
haha....🤣🤣
You carry this thing come here sha.
I love how you portrayed your point with a story, it made it really fun to read.
Like you said, originally it will be really hard to stay without one's phone but it is possible when it's something you don't have control over.
You try sha, I always love challenge too but not this type oo, lol.