reciprocation - noun - the act of responding to a gesture, feeling, or action with a similar or equivalent one.
(www.dictionary.com)
It's hard to escape ubiquitous technology. Like it or not, it has taken charge of our lives so that more than a few are beginning to sit up and take umbrage, especially those whose livelihoods A.I. has erased. (I was just asked to contribute to the musical mind of A.I. recently. Guess what I answered? No, no, and no!) I could go on and on, but when it comes down to keeping abreast of cha-cha-cha-changes, I tend to let the New York Times to do my bidding for me.
I am a big fan of the publication. Always have been. What can I say? I admire exemplary, objective (and occasionally subjective) journalism underscored with articulate intelligence. The other morning, I was listening to a podcast featuring Yale psychology professor Laurie Santos while I was preparing my daily fruit smoothie. The conversation broadcast had to do with happiness, a concept that can be easily intellectualized but rarely understood as readily attainable. Santos, a young member of the intelligentsia, mentioned "bed rot," a term that I had not heard prior to listening to her thoughts. For those of you who, like me, are oblivious to most of the modern lingo, bed rot is a condition associated with those who spend exorbitant amounts of time lying in bed surfing social media platforms, like Instagram, for instance. According to Ms. Santos, these individuals are not only experiencing loneliness but also unhappiness as the two are correlated. (Again, this finding is not new; it's common sense. Since so few have it, it is often erroneously seen as being synonymous with genius.)
To defeat loneliness and/or unhappiness (neither of which I have time for), I tend to reach out to real friends, not A.I. creations, and invite them over to my place (a one-bedroom apartment) for dinner. Most are enthusiastically accepting of my generosity and reciprocate by offering to enhance the meal by way of contributing additional items of food or drink. Which is kind and decent of them, kind of like taking baby steps, though, as when it comes to reciprocating fully, taking giants steps forward, they don't, meaning virtually no one I know will return the favor and host the next gathering at his or her apartment or home. I can't help but ask whether bed rot has anything to do with it. Does allowing one's mind to rot via endless online activity cut in to the desire to return favors? Has it obliterated decency? Probably.
Of course, every once in a while, those who continually depend on me to be the "cruise director," will assuage their own guilt by coming up with excuses as to why they can't return the favor and have us friends at their places. "I'm short of cash." Okay, fine but the invitees can supply most of the meal. "I don't have enough space." Don't invite a hundred; invite two. And let's not forget the classic: "I don't have time." Make time. What I am getting at here is that all things are possible. "If there is a will, there is a way," as my mother was so fond of repeating. By hosting folks, you might just be mitigating their loneliness and unhappiness in addition to your own, effacing the need to listen to thirty-minute podcasts like Santos's that aim to "optimize" happiness. In the time that it takes to hear all of her findings and subtle advice, you can be contacting friends and arranging a meetup. Just sayin'. You are at the helm of your own well being, not technology.
So there. I related bed rot to reciprocation. And it wasn't a stretch at all. Not bad for a common blogger.
#personal essay, #blog, #blogger, #loneliness, #unhappiness, #Laurie Santos, #podcasts, #A.I.
