5000 years ago, a day had 24 hours. 50 years ago, a day had 24 hours. This day is the same and the period ahead will probably continue to have days of the same length. Now, that is all about time. What about human activity? 5000 years ago, human beings spent their time hunting. 50 years ago, human beings were reaping the benefits of the industrial revolution that had occurred a few centuries ago and at the same time, were welcoming the advent of newer technologies. Their pastime included movies, music, travelling, sports etc. It will be fair to say that the human race had more activity 50 years ago compared to a long bygone era.
 |
| This guy had something precious - leisure time |
What about the present day? An article somewhere said that the past 50 years have seen more scientific/technological developments than the past 5000 years. Yes, we have a lot of activity today. A couple of decades ago, we used to go to the movies, watch TV, engage in sports among other things. Then the internet happened. Part of our 24 hour day had to be shared with computers to read e-mails and browse the web. Around the same time, mobile phones sneaked into our lives and another part of our day was dedicated to making and attending phone calls. Then, social media raised its head through the sea of the internet. Yet another part of the day would be occupied. Yes, the time we had to socialize in person, catch up with friends everyday, play games, watch TV is now compromised – compromised to developments around us. So far so good. What about the future? No, not the next 5000 years, but merely the next 20-30 years.
 |
| Our new 'close companion' |
Developments, technological or otherwise, will accelerate but our day will continue to have the same length. How will we accommodate our “mobile phone” time and time spent on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterset, apps, games etc. all in a single day? The answer in fact is really easy. We will adapt. We will adapt to all the changes that our environment brings upon us. We are already doing that. Oh yes, that also is the beauty of the human race. Didn’t Charles Darwin say – survival of the fittest? We are the fittest. Respect us, appreciate us, envy us – we are the human race.
If you are into your mid-twenties and above, remember the time you spent playing on the ground, or the time spent moving around with your friends in your neighborhood, or the time you had with you to do nothing. Yes indeed, we had time. Rest assured, that will never happen again, not just to you but to the kids of this era and the next. In our quest to retain social acceptance and FOMO (fear of missing out), we will continue to embrace anything that comes our way that will eat yet another part of our day. We will compromise, we will sacrifice all the good moments that we can have in meeting people face to face and spending time together. We are the human race – perhaps no so enviable after all.
 |
| Our everyday environment |
There is one thing that Darwin must have missed when he talked about adaption. He may not have thought of forced adaption or over-adaption. We have come a long way now, so comfortable with and married to our gadgets that this is a point of no return. Studies have shown that people worldwide are sleeping less than they used to. In the years ahead, we will sleep even lesser. Long live gadgets, social media. Long live disruptive innovation.
As I reach the end of this article, It struck me that I missed something that occupies yet another part of our day. Our job – the increasingly long working hours. Someone once said that with the advent of computers, human beings will work lesser. Now that is the height of sarcasm!!!!!
