Today is Wednesday, which means that there will be a copy of Digital Life included with The Straits Times. I’m really not a big fan of this, but to be brutally honest, I love to read it for comedic value. Tech news and articles that are a week old, considered ancient by web standards, are published and I love to gleefully run through the usually abysmal reviews and articles.
However, the 2nd page editorial, entitled “High Tech Disgrace” stood out today. The gist of it is how the tech-savvy these days use their gadgets as an excuse on public transportation to not notice others who needs the seat more than them, like the elderly or pregnant ladies. The gadgets provide “a more effective camouflage than newspapers as they shut out both your visual and hearing senses”.
Now my response is this: if you don’t wanna give up your seat, you don’t need an excuse. I’ve seen plenty of people, who obviously notice the person in question who would benefit from the seat more, simply ignoring it. They don’t need newspapers, mobile phones or portable music players. Their skin is thick enough!
To a gadget user like me, this is blatant generalization. I stay in Bedok and used to go to school at Boon Lay. Now I’m working at Jurong. That means a commute time of 1.5 hours each way, 3 hours per day, 15 hours per week (for a 5-day week). Do people truly expect me to be on the lookout for the needy every time I’m on public transportation? It’s simply unpossible. I need my gadgets so that I won’t go crazy from staring at each train and listening to the repetitive announcements over, and over, and over…
I do admit that I could have missed noticing a person in need, because I was plugged in to my iPhone while solving some puzzle on my Nintendo DS. However, let me set the record straight: it is not intentional. My intent for doing so is for my personal enjoyment and to stave off boredom, not so that I can keep my seat. You want proof? I also listen to music while gaming, even if i don’t get a seat. And if someone does get up, I’ll still be on my DS. It’s not like I’m joining the throng of people who are eyeing at it greedily, like some wolf staring at its next meal.
And the solution offered by the editorial? “Creating an online hall of shame”. How typical Singaporean fashion! A solution to every problem is either throwing money at it, or shaming the perpetrators. Which website would thrive by shaming others? Oh wait, this is Singapore. We already have one! Sponsored by the official state newspaper, no less. Nothing much to see there, just showing the world how idiotic, compassion-less and ego-centric Singaporeans are.
This problem isn’t one-fold. It’s two: the person giving, and the person receiving. And the mindset of a whole country. Zen Habits, one of my favourite personal improvement blogs, has a very nice article for Singaporeans: 5 Tiny Steps to Quit Being Such a Jerk. 5 steps that cannot be more simple, in my opinion:
- Admit you’re not perfect.
- Place yourself in the shoes of others.
- Act with compassion and kindness.
- Practice, practice.
- Do 5 little things.
Please visit that page for a more detailed analysis. But the basis is simple: place others before self. I hope you do realise that this whole economic crisis thing is also due to greed and not placing others before oneself. Money isn’t the root of all evil; desires are. The desire to have a nice seat for your long commute. But at what expense?
Of course, it’s easier said than done. I do realise that I shouldn’t preach without practice. Rest assured, I’m not. With my upcoming marriage, it’s even more imperative that I walk this talk.
