IN THE GRIP OF "SMART THINGS"

And to those inventing gadgets

I would angrily say: "You're bastards!"

Have you watched The Magic Gown, a wonderful Azerbaijani film, which tells about a journey of Soviet young pioneers through time? It proved to be prophetic in many ways. There was an episode in which schoolchildren of the future asked Rasid and Zarifa, the main characters that arrived from the past, to show them pictures taken with the camera. To that, Rasid replied: "Are you kidding, boys? I will need to develop and print them first!" After a chorus of hearty laughter, the children of the 21st century suggested that he would better take his antiquated camera to a museum, while they began to shoot and immediately view ... an ordinary video! Nowadays, it is ordinary indeed. What is more, they filmed it with a menacingly chirping apparatus that looked like the earliest amateur camera. We seem to have got well ahead of the future shown in the film, given that now everyone has in their pocket a camera combined with a videophone from that "future", have we not?

Here we are, in the 21st century at its finest! Compared with the past, the rhythm of life has accelerated even in the most remote corners of the planet. Not only our setting, but also we ourselves have changed. One of the main differences between the times is that, while in the past century one could notice books, magazines and newspapers in the hands of people in the streets, public transport and on boulevard benches, now these are replaced by electronic devices commonly known as "gadgets" (the reason why we are so zealous in contaminating our language with ugly foreign words when we have our own terms is a topic for another discussion).

Did you happen to be in a situation where you left your mobile phone at home and recalled this event when you were already so far away that returning was out of the question? How did you feel? Perhaps even a little child having lost their parents in a crowd would feel more comfortable. The first feeling that seizes the mind is panic. And there is a good reason for that! You expected a call from … what's-his-name? You also needed to urgently contact that … you-know-whom. And the whole day is wasted. The silence does not hold pleasure. All you have on your mind is some 30 calls you missed and 50 ones you failed to make.

However, there was time when our parents and even some of us managed to make do with home phones, while coin-operated payphones served as "mobiles". But then everyone tried not to be late for a meeting because there was nothing to make a call from and tell about the delay, and most importantly, there was nowhere to call to (after all, we did not live in the West where it was possible to call to outdoor phone boxes). But today we are "armed" and prepared for the fact that we can be found anywhere, at any time. There is no point in arguing to what extent it is good, as there is no coming back. So let us talk about those "dumb things" without which it is difficult to imagine the modern world in general and our city in particular.

Smartphones. Probably many of you, riding in a bus or a metro coach, paid attention to the busiest part of the passengers - players. They are hard to miss and include literally all population strata irrespective of age and gender. Hunched over their smart phones (though "smart" can hardly be applied to each of the phone owners in this case), they are doing a "tough" job - fighting the falling balls, squares and diamonds or driving a virtual car into narrow curves. Seeing such guys, I am almost tempted to say: you'd better apply your energy to peaceful purposes! It would have been a different matter if the habit of hunching over and staring at the small screen for hours would only be characteristic of young, as yet healthy people who do not think much of the consequences, but this sin often befalls adults, too, who already have cervical osteochondrosis or impaired vision. It seems sometimes that if you pull the device out of the hands of such a button pusher, the person will die. Right here. Right now. The others, prying themselves away from their pursuits and being upset about it, will close in on you and batter you to death with smartphones and then resume playing.

Have you noticed the speed with which certain smartphone freaks are typing SMSs with both hands? The best typists of the past are sleepy turtles, compared to them! As to the quality and literacy of such correspondence, let us remain conspicuously silent about that. But the very need to write messages amidst the hustle and bustle of transportation is questionable, to put it mildly. Although at times, it seems that at least the fate of an entire people is decided in this correspondence, judging by the expression on the writer's face. Moreover, other fans of SMS communication may happen to be close by at such moments, enthusiastically reading the contents without any hesitation. I remember one writer saying to his prying neighbour, presumably in an attempt to awaken him to a sense of shame: "Do you like what I have written?" The latter, not in the least embarrassed by the fact that he was busted, calmly replied: "It's a bomb. Send it".

If we compare in terms of percentage the purposes for which mobile phones are used, the comparison will clearly not be in favour of the phone as such, although it started to be produced for this application, eventually acquiring additional functions. What can be said about modern phone models? Only one thing: sophisticated smartphones have been made a priority by all manufacturers, and the ordinary phone with a single function of making calls is almost out of production. We often complain that the smartphone does not "hold" a charge. How can the poor thing "hold" a charge if it is being used all day long for internet surfing, playing or listening to music! Yet, there were ordinary Nokia phones, which were able to "hold" a charge up to a week! But this is already a thing of the past and nobody likes it. However, if you do not like it, there is nothing to complain about! In such a case, do not forget to "feed" your gadget every hour or attach a heavy storage battery.

Tablet computers. Either because of the age of speed or due to overwhelming laziness that has seized all of us without exception, but the reluctance to make extra movements, even by the tongue, has resulted in the appearance of silly shortened words that are increasingly afflicting the literary language, in this case, Russian: teach, comment, varsity... And it is a pity that the very term "computer" has somehow vanished from the phrase "tablet computer", leaving only the word denoting the way it is transported. In fact, the Russian word for tablet (planshet) initially meant a flat leather map case with a transparent window, designed for carrying maps. It was mainly used in the army. However, these are details that few people are now interested in.

So, tablets. This is a very useful device which, if not drove desktops and laptops out of the market, then offered them serious competition. Especially among people who do not need to run more or less serious applications, and use the computer only for logging in to the internet and online networking with other souls. Statistics show that such people constitute an overwhelming majority (we really love this pastime). However, given their considerable size, compared to the above smartphones, it is by far less common to see tablet computers in the hands of people in the street and public transport. Nonetheless, if there are aesthetes who prefer a very large screen for gaming, they should be aware that it is their direct duty to entertain others, which is generally the case. Those standing above or sitting next to such a "ball kicker" or "cool race driver" are watching with interest the progress of the competition.

E-books. That is the real thing! Having ceased to be citizens of the "most reading country", as the former Soviet Union was proudly called (and not without reason, as the time shows), we actually lost the very object of reading - books. So today, we should be grateful to the organizers of digital libraries for their truly titanic work, which enables us to download and read our favourite and new books. This is where E-book readers of all kinds should have come in handy. Just download, save it to the "reader" and read it. Nothing could be simpler, it seems. However, we do not see them in the hands of gadget maniacs.

Meanwhile, all of the above is just a heap of metal and plastic without His Majesty the Internet. It is impossible to imagine how people could live without it merely a couple of decades ago. Where did they draw information from, if there was neither Google nor Yandex browsers? Well, there even was no mail.ru search engine. True, there were books at home and libraries were still working, but this is incomparable. Imagine a series of actions the inquisitive person had to perform - rise up, get dressed, go or ride for the required book, read it (how horrible!) and find what is needed. How much better it is now - no need to rise up, just enter the search parameters into any device at hand (you need not even bother yourself with keying in this information, suffice it to ask Google), and get whatever you want, explained in the simplest terms and ready to be imbibed. Of course, this applies to people who would not take a book into their hands even back then. Meanwhile, there are many others who use the World Wide Web for its intended purpose, so as to gain knowledge, engage in self-education or derive aesthetic pleasure from beauty. Indeed, it is great if there are people who, instead of relishing gossips about the "stars" and having disputes in Facebook with strangers on a silly topic, would wish to visit the site of a museum, for example, the Louvre or the Hermitage and admire paintings they would not be able to see with their own eyes. Or to watch a concert of Pink Floyd ... Just a matter of taste.

Social media, led by Facebook, is a separate life. What kind of people were our ancestors, if they could comfortably eat without posting their dishes for public display, and go to bed without getting a daily portion of "likes" from unknown "friends", many of whom would whole-heartedly wish the author of vivid photos to choke over the demonstrated dishes! Our fathers went to ridiculous lengths, inviting their real friends - not to look at the photos of dishes, but to come on a visit and share a meal with them. It was simply absurd. But we have got off the subject.

Of course, electronics has become part and parcel of modern life. But the instruments and devices should help people, making their life easier and simplifying the solution of many problems, without turning into a "black hole" which extracts people from life and irrevocably pulls them into some other, admittedly not very interesting reality. In the meantime, let a phone - our mobile friend - remain, above all, a phone. That very phone, which was bestowed on mankind by old Bell. Whether wired or wireless, it should bring you the Voice. The Voice of your friend, your child, our beloved…