Freedom of thought a modern malady

Woe, a new affliction is upon us.

All that hunching over mobile phones/iPads and other assorted digital devices is creating a post-modern malaise that has been christened "text neck".

The Guardian, reporting this evolutionary side-track, notes it is a "straining of the cervical vertebrae and ligaments" caused by long periods hunched over the latest smartphone/laptop gizmo widget. It also can provoke head, shoulder, arm and wrist pain.

Apparently our heads weigh a lot and our backs and necks don't like having to hold them at a crazy angle for a long time. "Text neck" seems a poor trade-off for the ability to transmit, via a dinky wee digital device, the minutiae of daily life to people just as gripped by obsessive narcissism as you are. The Guardian article noted that perhaps we will adapt to meet these unforeseen physical demands by evolving smaller heads and bigger necks. Does this mean that eventually we will all look like a cross between ET and a prop forward?

The serious tone of the piece is best captured by repeating its remedy for the malady: Tie yourself to a broom handle every morning to keep your back straight.

If international diplomacy was conducted on Facebook we would see, along with crazy pictures of people doing crazy stuff, that the United States has changed its mind about the nature of its relationship with New Zealand.

Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, came to visit a while back and declared that we had a special relationship with that country. We were all mightily chuffed that a world superpower had noticed us and picked us as a buddy. Now it seems we have been "unfriended". We have been downgraded and bunched together with a whole swag of countries, some of whom we do not like to be associated with. Instead of ticking "Like" they have ticked "Unlike". This leaves us with no option but to change our relationship status to "single". We could "Unfriend" them back but that would be petty and probably nobody would notice.

It is possible that the US Government just forgot that we have been friends.

We all forget things from time to time. I forgot something the other day. The thought had been there. I was going to remember but in a generous moment I set the thought free. Relishing its sudden release from cognitive capture it took wing and departed to a distant horizon, never to return.

Some thoughts and ideas have minds of their own and, although there might be plenty of vacant space in the memory (there certainly is in mine), it may not have the right decor, ambience or location for a thought to develop into a fully fledged coherent good idea. So the thought might decide it wants to move out and who am I do deny a thought the freedom to leave if it wishes?

So, if in your travels you come across an idea that seems a bit waffly, misguided, undisciplined and rowdy, it might be one of mine. There is no point in trying to get it back to me. Having had a taste of freedom it will have no desire to return to captivity, but thanks for thinking of me because, to quote Anon: It is the thought that counts.

Terry Sarten lives in Whanganui and describes himself as a musician, social worker, writer with too many thoughts to manage all at once. Email: tgs@inspire.net.nz