New vistas

My urge to post has drawn me to a seedy cybercafe near my place of work. It has been sometime since I have come to a cyber cafe and coming here brings a spate of memories. There were times when I spent about 5 hours per week and the majority of my allowance in/on a cybercafe. Those days (ah what a loaded phrase!) were the days of dial up connections, seedy stuffy rooms full of students of all nationalities and Rs50 an hour browsing. After 5 years I see a little has changed ... the price has come down to Rs15, there is airconditioning but the room is still full of smoke, students and exasperation at the speed! And yes people still peer over into your screen. It is still a "public" activity as opposed to "private" browsing in your home. Which is strange because gradually everything is becoming more personal and private. The most dramatic is the ubiquitous TVs.They used to be servicing a family if not an entire neighbourhood in the days of yore but today a DINK has trouble sharing a single TV with channels multiplying like rabbits. PCs were meant to be "personal" but that definition was rather diluted in my school days when the entire class of 30 children pushed and jostled to have a look at the solitary computer screen! Are we losing something as communities or are we gaining something as individuals?!