Bored.com

The use of technology to entertain us fascinates me. Is it all an unnecessary waste of money? Or a a very necessary escape from the rush of modern life?

I love new technology, but I guess I'm a traditionalist at heart. A traditionalist - but a recent convert.

I would wake up in the morning and turn on the telly before parading into work. I'd spend my lunch hour in the welfare room in front of a television set. I'd come home and switch on the box to enjoy my favourite soap, follow it up with a Stir fry and a hefty dash of the national news. I'd dab in a documentary for a while, and turn to Question Time for the latest political mishaps. I'd relax and slip into my dream world with a film blaring away in the background. Notice a theme? Telly, Television, the Box- in all its form's its one invention that seems to govern the very existence of so many of us. Who said slavery was abolished? Just one item can control so much of what we do..

I use to always have the games consoles, and the desktop PC, and the Gameboy, and then the smaller, lighter version of the Gameboy which cost twice as much because it was 'colour.' I've had a mobile since I was 11, my parents were getting rid of theirs- Green screen, good for calls and almost nothing else- and since then I've been hooked. All this technology is there to prevent us from being 'bored'. But do you know what, the more the market is swarmed by this electricity-fed entertainment, the more and more bored we all become.

We can't fathom a world without our new 'gold' powering this endless entertainment. In the past it was a simpler world; a more imaginative place. Kids played and talked to one another, and told stories and jokes to amuse each other. They made dens to play in, and created worlds that existed only inside their very own PC; their brain. Now I don't want to rainbow the past- It was as crappy-a-place as modern place can be, I'm sure- but like I said I'm a technological convert.

I'm still addicted to my phone of course. But its calls now, not texts. I watch the news and documentaries- but the 400 pointless shows devotedly followed like the Bible by millions, do nothing for me. I shalln't name and shame. People can try to suck me in, but I can tell you the plot of every single one of these shows by a quick peep in the Sunday listings without actually having to force myself through endless hours of the crap.

I'm still addicted to facebook too, but not surfing the Internet. Facebook is about real people and real lives, arranging things with my friends and my expression of myself to all those around me. Photo's and comments and chats and events- real people, real things.

But other than that, consoles and games and pointless programmes have gone out of my life. What I enjoy in my life is gathering with my family and friends. Talking and eating together. Discussing life and the people we know.

I also like books. Why don't people read anymore?! People tend to forget what our very own brains are capable of and the worlds that they can create. We don't need a PC to create it for us. And the best bit is, a book costs £7.99 from a store ( or 25p down your local car boot). Not £179.99. Much kinder on the bank balance.

Don't throw out the telly, but watch the useful and interesting shows that give you information about the world you live in. And then use this information to visit this wonderful world of ours. I watched a programme about Iceland, and I went there. Wow. One of the best trip's of my life.

Don't throw out the computer, but use it as a tool to learn about this amazing place and the people in it that mean something to you.

Pick up a book and discover a thousand new worlds for you to explore.

Invite your mum round for tea, or your Aunt Edna, or your best friend Joe- turn off the telly, and talk. Bake a cake. Cook them a meal. Catch up on what you have missed and learn about their day, and their life..a thousand times more interesting (and relevant) than Patsy the transexual on the telly.

Why? Because you won't be bored. An instant cure to the scourge of modern humanity.

A friend recently spoke to me about getting a PSP for 150 quid ('with two games') for her husband to enjoy during their 2 week Caribbean holiday. You're in the Caribbean, with you're hubby, the only entertainment you should need is each other, the sunny beaches, the glorious sun and the odd cocktail (or 3)!! 'But it's an 8 hour flight' she says, but a book can be read on the plane, saving yourself a handsome £142.99, better spent, arguably, on some extra alcohol or a fancy dinner.

Maybe I'm being too simple. Some people might not enjoy reading. But humanity needs to re-discover entertainment in itself, in spending time with one other. Like the cavemen who sat around a fire for light & food- whose entertainment was to be surrounded by his or her loved ones whilst enjoying a good meal. Maybe us 'modern' men and women could learn a trick or two...