Having the latest technology is like when you finally date the guy or girl you’ve always had a huge crush on – it can bring complications.

Imagine if there’s a guy or girl that you have a huge crush on, but when you finally start dating that person you find out that they’re not as great as you thought they’d be. Maybe you thought they’d be funny, smart, kind, fun to be around, and so forth, but when you start dating them you find out they don’t even have one of those things. But because you like them so much you don’t want to let them go.

At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if you wondering what the connection between this and technology is.

It’s simple.

When you see a new phone or a laptop being advertised on TV, you may tell yourself that you really need it, but when you finally get it you find out that having it isn’t as great as you thought it’d be. In fact, you find out that your parents are complaining that you spend more time with your earphones on than you do listening to them. You find out that you spend more time playing computer games, or being on Whatsapp, Facebook and BBM than you do reading your schoolwork, or even talking to people face to face. Hell, you even find out that because of your fancy toys, you’ve become the target of tsotsis (criminals) and you constantly have to worry about avoiding robbery. It’s crazy!

So what do you do? Do you throw away your phone, mp3 player or laptop?

No!

This technology of ours costs way too much money for us to just throw it away, but maybe the answer is actually easier than we think. Maybe we should just put these phones and laptops down for some time and see what happens.

When I was in the Eastern Cape in July, I had no choice, but to put it down. There was no electricity! In fact, there wasn’t even any network. Just imagine!

Terrible, right?

Well, that’s what I thought when I first arrived. In my first week I was constantly complaining. But when I got used to not using my phone, mp3 player and my laptop, I started to see a BIG difference.

I was reminded of how nice it is to talk to people in person. And when I was talking to girls the flirting was even more fun than usual. I was also reminded of how nice it is to get some real work done. For a change, my sister and my mother stopped calling me lazy. Hell, I even had time to go hunting and to take long walks up the many mountains that surround my village. Basically, not having technology in my life for a month was actually a GOOD thing.

I can honestly say that I’m not addicted to chatting on social networks anymore. But I’ve also got to say, though, that I’m still addicted to my computer games. Luckily, I don’t play them as much I did before I went to the Eastern Cape.

I always wonder how many people out there are just as addicted to technology as I was. And so, ladies and gentleman, I ask you.

#ChatBack: Are you just as addicted as I am to technology?

And if so, do you think spending so much time on our phones, computers, iPads and even mp3 players is a good thing or should we try and change our behaviour?

And if you’re not as addicted as the rest of us, what do you do with your free time?

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