Under one roof, but different worlds

Whenever anyone living alone commits suicide, the topic of loneliness philosophically lands on almost every tongue, but have we wondered despite many of us living within big families, aren’t we still lonely?

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Take any home, anywhere and anytime, every member — be it young or old — would be glued to their mobile phones, not to be disturbed. No wonder, everyone prefers to stay in their own room, as if it’s a hotel with room numbers missing.

I have visited homes where I had to meet one family member after the other, because none of them is in the same room, and sometimes on different floors. Once, a family member was oblivious to the fact other members were home: ‘If the cars are outside, they are home. If not, they would be out,’ I was told.

That’s why countries and borders are not just where they are, they are also there where they shouldn’t be: within homes. It’s the number of family members who make up the number of countries at home, who rarely cross their border line. Even if they do, say, at the dining table, most of them would be still lost, screen in hand — chatting with someone sitting miles away. What an irony! We are least interested in talking to someone sitting right in front of us. The scenario is no different during family outings, be it a dinner or picnic, plucking away the essence of get-togethers.

As we go on, oscillating in this process, don’t we end up breaking bonds instead of strengthening them, especially with those with whom we live? If our bonds are not strong with those around us, how can we open up about any stress we may be facing? That’s the reason why many of us go on burying our stress deep inside us, just because we fail to find the right person to share it with. Even if we decide to unburden ourselves with online friends, how can someone ‘electronically’ offer us a shoulder to rely on? This has paved the way for anxiety, depression, and even suicides across the globe. According to the WHO, nearly 8 lakh people commit suicide every year.

Imagine those old simple days, when suicide or depression was rarely heard of — all because everyone was truly connected with one another. Today, the same connections have got replaced electronically. Sadly, the obsession is so acute that it reminds me of ‘Slave of Machines’, a Samuel Butler chapter from school days, which today may be taught as ‘slaves of technology’. Hopefully, it may wake up many.

Christian Lous Lange, a Norwegian historian and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, was right in his observation, ‘Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.’ How we use it, makes all the difference!