A young boy lay flat on his back in the middle of a spacious living room. While spacious, many pieces of furniture could be found in almost every corner of the room. There were chairs lined against the wall, with a few couches lined on the opposite side. The boy’s mother sat patiently on the couch closest to him.
The mother was holding a strange yet unbelievably useful device in her hand. The boy tugged on his mother’s skirt. “Mom!” shouted the boy. “Mom, would you answer me please?” The boy’s mother barely even flinched. “Mom?” asked the boy quietly. Still, she wouldn’t budge.
The boy took drastic measures. He stood up and swiped the device out of his mother’s hands. “WHAT?!!” bellowed the boy’s mother. Startled, the boy dropped the device on the ground, cracking the screen. The boy scrambled on the ground, his mother standing over him. “How many times do I have to tell you to sit still and look at your phone?” asked the mother. “But mom” started the boy, “I really wanna go outside.”
“O-outside?” the mother stammered. “Why on earth would you want to go outside?” “Well”, the boy thought, “it’s pretty outside. There are lots of colors and beautiful sounds. And it smells nice too.” “Ajay, you have to understand that we don’t go outside anymore because its very dangerous. Lots of people die outside. If we stay in this facility, we won’t ever be hurt. Nobody ever gets hurt in here. We have everything we need right on our phones.” “Okay mom” the boy said gloomily. “I guess you’re right.”
Flash forward 20 years. A pavilion comes into view. One person tables filled the room, with each table filled. Each person at each table was holding a phone in their hands. Nobody flinched, nobody coughed, nobody did anything except do things on their phones. A window is located in the middle of the room. Outside, it’s crisp, clean, and beautiful. Fields of flowers could be seen for miles. But nobody was to be found. Nobody was outside anymore. Who wants to be outside when you have everything you need right on one device?