...On Technology Creating Needs...

"Isandaang libong piso? Saan tayo kukuha ng ganon kalaking halaga?!" 

- From a really old, black & white movie shown in Cinema One

Sometimes I tend to wonder what those times were like, when that kind of money is actually unheard of. These days, it's a year's worth of taxable income.

In simpler times, people were able to live their lives. However, how come that these days, nothing is ever enough? Sure, it makes our lives that much easier, but doesn't it feel somehow that we're creating needs than actually needing it? 

On Modernization

Let me start off with something basic such as electricity. Ok, I can't say it's not great, but sometimes, it seems absurd that we watch a show like Survivor and be awed at how primitive they live their lives for 30 fuckin days. Some people who lived in provinces before didn't even get the chance to have electricity for the entirety of their lives.

Libraries are slowly becoming obsolete. Everything's on the internet now. And with the ever-changing world, it seems that printed material is easily outdated. Books have ebook formats now. When before, we would read entire books and consult the glossary of terms when there are words that are new to us, all we have to do now is Google something and we have what we need.  

Facebook wasn't even a concept some years back. But now, it seems everyone has one. And some can't even live without it for a week.

Our constant dependency on it created our need for it. It's not THAT bad, really. Not as bad as the others, at least.

I think this over-dependency affects our ingenuity, our ability to operate simple stuff, and basically, our need for physical activity.

Medicine and Pornography

I can't say advances in medical technology didn't help the human race, much like electricity did. But there are stuff out right now that we think we need that we didn't think we needed before. A great example would be Viagra or other "performance-enhancing" drugs or teas. People made love before, and they understood that at a certain age, they can't anymore. Now, the people who "need" these "performance enhancers" are getting younger and younger.

Also, the kids who try sex for the first time are getting younger and younger. People get curious earlier, and some get pressured if they pass a certain age because they want to be "in" the conversation. They feel that they "need" to be non-virgins by the time they reach a certain age. 

I blame the created need on pornography. With the way that it is so easily accessible nowadays, people get crazy ideas. They experiment. They become curious. And they are pressured to do the same acts because apparently, it's possible. Anal sex wasn't even thought of as a concept before porn introduced it. Now, it's a problem and a craving that's a constant question in Mo Twister's podcast. 

It somehow destroys our sense of morality, and to some extent, intimacy.

On Cellphones and Gadgets

I remember seeing ads for the iPhone 4 that says "This is going to change everything... Again". Just a couple of years back, we lived in a world without the iPhone. Now, it seems everyone must get their hands on one.

True, cellphones have made life that much easier to communicate more than pagers and air mail. But the recent surge of developments are becoming more and more absurd. Companies like Apple are creating needs for us. We didn't need apps before, now we can't get enough of it. We didn't need Facetime in as early as 2009, and now the iPhone 4 became that much of a need because of the stupid Facetime shit.

The iPad 2 comes out later this week. A couple of years ago, you never thought that such a device would even exist. Yet today, people seem to need to get their hands on these.

Kids don't run around anymore like they used to. When before you chase them around for them to have fun, or they run punch the air like there are monsters attacking, they're now sitting around with heads bowed down with their PSP's and DS devices.

I blame this created need on competition between big companies. Their constant desire to outplay other players in the market created this surge of technological advances.

To some extent, it affects how we run our lives. Savings that before were meant for basic commodities, are now also being spent on the latest gadgets, because apparently, they have become part of the "basic" needs of a person. 

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I think somehow, this is sourgraping because I'm no Steve Jobs or someone who can invent stuff that people would eventually need. But with all the convenience these new stuff gives us, it gives me this sense that it might not be long before we end up like the humans in the movie Wall-E. 

Sue me for hating on technological advancement.

...On Writing...

I got the chance to read an entertaining blog from a friend yesterday (http://bangsh.multiply.com/journal/item/51/ay_magbo-blog_para_mag-rant.?replies_read=10), about her being single. Then I remembered how it was being able to write that way: entertaining, interesting, fun. If you define a "writer" as one who can write both prose and poetry with ease, then I could say that I never was one. I'm a bad poet, and rarely do I get the true meaning of some poetry. 

But I do want to think of myself as a writer: I write with confidence that I'm using correct grammar, I express my thoughts clearly, and I have fun reading some of the stuff I wrote a long time ago. I write best when I have an opinion on the matter, so I guess I get to write my best when sharing personal experiences. 

I realized yesterday that I haven't been able to write as much as I did before. And Issa was ranting that she couldn't get herself to write as well. Not to say that we're on the same field here, as she is more creative than I was (her poetry could be made into songs, I think), but I'm going on a limb here and try to think of reasons why I couldn't write anymore. 

1. The Evil that is Facebook

Before Facebook, you'd see lengthy blogs from me even every week. I frequent Multiply because I get to read lengthy blogs from my friends as well. Then came Facebook, with it's 420-character statuses. Then Twitter, with 160 characters. People became so engrossed with expressing themselves in limited characters, that there's nothing much to write about if you decide to make a blog. In probably a single sentence, you have shared everything that you felt for the whole day, that if you made a blog about it, people won't read it knowing the gist of what happened to your day.

Eventually, I got lazy. I wrote my lengthy thoughts on the comments section of people's statuses. I replied to every comment on my status updates. I read people's one-liners to be updated about their lives. No more reading about details, no more sharing of mine. Just straight to the point thoughts. 

Thinking about it, if you're reading this and you see that you're not even at the half of the blog, don't get frustrated. I'm giving you a favor. I'm trying to make you enjoy reading details again. Think about this blog as being a whole movie, as opposed to a Facebook or Twitter post which are trailers. Isn't it a bit more exciting watching a whole movie and understanding the whole story than just skipping to the good parts?

2. Creativity in Depression

You, dear reader, are probably of my age or near that. Well then, chances are, you've been a fan of Wave 89.1's Quiet Storm at one point in your life or even to this day. It's nice to listen to those nice songs, really. But aren't they all sad? "Separated" by Usher, "Gone" by N'Sync, or even the contemporary "Di Lang Ikaw" by Juris (that song from "Ruby") are all about loneliness.

As I mentioned in Shally's blog, I think I wrote my best pieces when I was single. Not that I was wishing I were single, but the thing is, people related to me more, I turned depression into inspiration by ranting about my feelings, and ended up with pretty good pieces. Well, to me they were. They're like those Quiet Storm songs: you've heard them countless times, but when when you hear them again, it's like a new song that you just have to listen to til it ends. 

Right now, I'm in a contented state in life. I'm happy, true, probably not all the time, but it's just how life is. But I know whatever happens, that there's a better half of me that I can always count on. I need not escape through writing to escape my depression like before. I had someone who'd listen to me. It's not like she's sucking out my creativity, it's just that, I don't feel the urge to rant because I haven't been keeping much to myself. 

Theorizing, I think people's inclination towards reading sad, depressing quotes or blogs is because of our natural concern towards others. I mean, if someone wrote a blog about how wonderful his/her day was, what would you tell that person? "Congrats!"? But if someone wrote something about what's eating him/her out, you try to reach out and encourage that person to go on and keep on living.

We have a natural tendency to "help" others. We want to do something when we can. We'd rather try to give attention to people who need help than be happy with people who are happy with their lives. 

Ironic, isn't it? We're that kind of people, but we have this kind of government. But then, don't make me go there.

Point is, depression = creativity, happiness = contentment. 

3. The Reward of Readership

When I write blogs, I try to reply to everyone who leaves a comment. I also make it a habit to check how many people actually read the stuff I write. 

I enjoy seeing people actually reading my stuff. No matter how much I say that I write because I want to express myself, my best reward is always when someone actually relates to my post, someone reads it, or someone has an opinion about it. That's why I don't keep a journal or a diary. It's like being a secret agent: it's so cool but you can't tell anyone that you are. I mean, why write something if you know nobody's going to get to read it anyway? 

Sadly, Multiply readership has declined. Probably because of too many online marketers, but I think I'd go back and blame Facebook all over again. It turned us all into lazy readers, wanting to read about so many people in so little time, but not able to know the whole story behind those status updates. When we see at least 3 paragraphs of text, we instantly think it's a waste of time. 

I think my man  Angel Velasco writes about good basketball stuff in his site (http://offthebench.multiply.com/), but it's not like before when we got to trade opinions with other basketball fans. Heck, the most talked-about free agency wasn't even discussed in his site. If I were the one keeping the site up, I'd fold ship. Good thing I'm not. I still get to read good stuff from him every once in a while. 

I don't really know how people or real writers write. I mean, do they write for the sake of writing? Do they get affected by their readers with positive or negative feedbacks? 

Me, I write to express. But to be criticized or praised or be noticed; those are the stuff that inspire me to write. I like to write, but I love to be read. It makes me believe that I CAN write.

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Why serve meat to vegetarians? Would you even try to run out to the street in the middle of a thunderstorm when you don't want to be wet? Then why write if you know no one's going to read it? 

I don't consider myself as a loss to the "writing" world. But if any of you readers are actually writers and you think you have the same reasons as mine, YOU probably would be a loss to that world. Find inspiration. If you need to be depressed, go emo. If you need readers, post something, I promise to read and comment on it. 

Just don't be lazy.