The first mobile phone call was made 44 years ago in 1973, at this point internet, digital camera and personal computers did not exist. Now technology has evolved for us to simultaneously browse the web and make a phone call at the same time from the sleekest most portable device. Though, you did not need me to remind you of this with most of us now owning a mobile phone. In fact, India now has more mobile phones per person than toilets according to a report published by the U.N with half the population (563.73 million) accessing cellular networks (U.K. Telegraph, 2010)
Yes, mobile technology has made us complacent with actually socially interacting by making us feel permanently connected to one another. Even though we may have this false belief that we are more connected, which apparently is a good thing, how are we ever able to disconnect? How does this attachment infringe upon our ability to rest when we are always connected to our work?
I interviewed George Onisiforou (38), a Cypriot immigrant now working as a policy advisor in Sydney how mobile technology has affected his sleeping and rest patterns. Unfortunately, Onisiforou like most of us is at the mercy of his cell phone, continuously repeating that he cannot sleep at night if he gets a stressful email. This cycle will continue and continue he says until he will wind up with a working week of no sleep and having to sleep all weekend to get his body clock back in check.
After analysing his interview, I decided it would be fitting to interpret the interview into a poem to better make sense of his situation.
Ring ring ring, from the army
I was 18
I used to call everything
Now
Hello, hello, baby I can’t hear a thing
Everything is expected of me
Everything is taken from me
Words and words and words and
Now
You won’t stop calling me
I’m kinda busy
A million feet up
Words and words and words and
I’m 38
Now
I’m at home
It does not stop
I need this
I need to kill time to live
I can’t be shut off or shut down
I can’t sleep
I can sleep
I can’t sleep
I can sleep
I can’t sleep
Stop calling
Stop calling
I don’t want to dream anymore
Every night I check before I sleep
I need to feel
Stress
A particular kind of stress
The type you feel when you dream
Your eyes see it when they are closed
It creeps in
Delays my sleep
For a second
For a minute
For an hour
For eternity
Never sleeping
Never completely sleeping
Never totally awake
Stuck in this
I’m 80
In my bed
Barely breathing
Stop telephoning me
Stop telephoning me
I’m busy
Stop telephoning me
You can call if you want
But there’s no one home
And you’re not gonna reach my telephone.
Telegraph, U. 2010, India has more mobile phones than toilets: UN report, viewed 19 October 2017, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/7593567/India-has-more-mobile-phones-than-toilets-UN-report.html>.
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This was such an interesting way to interpret your interviewee’s feelings; the poem’s structure definitely evoked a sense of sleep deprivation and stress.
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Wow Domenic what an interesting way to convey such a powerful message. I agree with Lily in that the repetition of “I can’t sleep” and “I can sleep” evoke the feelings of your interviewee well. Thanks for sharing.
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