Suddenly, all is a lot less noisy

KK Paul

Recently I had an occasion to visit a government hospital in Delhi and was pleasantly surprised. The corridors, which used to be very noisy, were quiet, despite each bench being fully occupied. Carpenters’ song, ‘There is a kind of hush, all over the world…’ immediately came to mind.

It was a strange scene. Patients as well as their attendants, and even most children, some of them in school uniform, were engrossed in cellphones. Had they shown in school, such a high level of focused concentration, it would have made their teachers proud. 

India has been known to be a noisy place, full of noisy people. Whether one is in a public transport or waiting for one, one can see any number of strangers chatting up, as if they have known one anther for years. Consideration for those sitting close by has been far less important than striking a boisterous conversation. But things have changed. Today, railway platforms, bus stops, corridors and verandas of public offices, foyers of cinema halls, in fact, most public places, all seem to be under the spell of cellphones.

While cellphones may have taken time to smarten up, their impact on society in general has been almost instantaneous. Lowering of the decibel level of people in general has been the obvious manifestation of their impact. Societal norms also seem to be undergoing a change. Within the same household, mutual conversations have somewhat reduced as parents as well as children may be busy with their own devices, even over the dining table, that is, if they come together at all.

Man is known to be a social animal, but with the smartphone in hand, he feels empowered and is becoming more individualistic. Only time will tell what would be the long-term impact on his personality, but some subtle changes are already becoming obvious. Some would say that all this is happening because of the Internet. But it is the smartphone which is providing access to the Net. And when the Internet of things (IoT) becomes more popular in future, the speed of change in individual behaviour as well as societal norms is bound to accelerate. 

This takes us back to the 1964 thesis of Marshall McLuhan, where he propounded that ‘medium is the message’. The Internet has been in public use since the creation of the World Wide Web in 1988. Cellphones also arrived on the scene almost simultaneously, but it is their convergence which has led to their smartening up, with empowerment of the common man. 

McLuhan also explained the changes that a new innovation would bring about in behaviour. Here the emphasis was not on the immediate content, but its overall impact and the dynamics of behaviour that the new innovation would tend to change. It is such changes in the dynamics of our society, or those at the individual level that are today becoming obvious from the use, overuse or addiction to smartphones.