Got the message?

Glancing through an old magazine I came across an advertisement of an Indian telecom giant, inviting everyone to “Karlo Duniya Mutthi Mein” (Hold the world in your hands). Later I came to know that this slogan had brought a revolution in India connecting people through mobile phones as the service was so cheap that everyone was seen holding a cellular phone in his/her hand.

I feel that punchline is more relevant today because everyone is connected through various Apps on social media whether it is Facebook, WhatsApp, BBM, Skype or Twitter.

Thanks to easy reach to smartphones today, everyone is getting connected to more and more people with every passing day. Social media has become so popular across the world that it looks as if no one could live without it.

People have got so involved with the social media that they use the Apps even to communicate with God, at least that is what an ad shows.

The advertisement shows a man who regularly goes to the temple and prays for a smartphone. Finally, when he buys a phone, he gets so engrossed with the Apps that he sends a thank you note to God using WhatsApp.

Got the message or shall I WhatsApp you?

(Published in The Gulf Today on April 26, 2014)