Photo by Negative Space.
Have you ever thought about why applications and smartphones are on demand? Why more people are playing e-sports rather than playing physical sports? Why more people would rather choose to surf the internet than to surf the actual waters? If you have examined the title of the article, you’ve guessed it right. I have a theory that the cost of reality has gone up, that is why more people are shifting to less costly activities in the digital world. The theory is more applicable in the urban area; but the application has the same importance in the rural area.
In economics, we have a concept called normal and inferior good, I will not dive into the technicalities, but basically, a normal good is a product or service that you will consume given that you have an abundant source of income (these are the goods that you really want buy because you love these products despite the price). And when you are tight on budget, you might not be able to buy your preferred products and services, but there are substitute products that cost less than your preference; these substitutes are what we call inferior goods. My theory is that, we are substituting digital living to reality living, because the cost of reality has increased; even though our main preference is to live in the real world, we tend to choose the inferior one. I’m not generalizing here, but living in the digital world is becoming a phenomenon; it is becoming a trend that humans spent more hours in front of computers and smartphones (spending time in front of the TV, is also a form of disconnection from reality because you are not aware of the surroundings and you are not making a connection to real humans).
In the heat of the outbreak of coronavirus, many will choose to stay in their homes. In developing countries, like the Philippines, long hour of stay inside a house is normal. Even without the mandate of the government due to coronavirus, I will vouch that many Filipinos have experienced house staycations in normal days. If they are at home, they are watching TV, reading books, listening to music, using smartphones or computer, socializing with their love ones or neighbors, playing with their pet, sleeping (siesta), cooking, eating, smoking, drinking, cleaning the house & dishes, gardening, and doing the laundry (I have to make exceptions, not all drink and smoke and not all have gardens and pets). To cut the chase short, long hours of homestay is just normal for Filipinos (you might say that this is not normal; well you might be part of the 1% upper class, who takes breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Shangrila Hotel every day, where shopping is a past time, and watching the sunset by the bay is a daily routine).
Technology has made staying at home much cheaper. Playing electronic games (e-sports) is less costly than playing outdoor games, such as basketball, which requires you to pay for sports gear, pay for transport, and sometimes to pay for rent for using the court (and you will most likely to buy more food since physical sports consumes a lot of calories).
Is this really the future? Are we really going to live more in the digital world, than in the real world? If you are from the silent generation, I’m sure that living digitally is not an option, but for the young generation, this is the reality. Going straight to the point, the cost of reality must converge with the cost of the digital world, so that people would be able to choose to live more in the real world (the digital world has almost no cost, and that is the challenge).
And how will we do that? How are we going to lower the cost of reality? There are two ways, either we lower the prices of goods and services or we raise the income of people, or we do both – that’s it. The solution might be simple, but the specifics can be complicated, and the design can be technical. What I’m presenting here is just a general solution or idea that can be a basis for detailed plans. Let alone the paid government think tanks do the job.
I’m not against living in the digital world, in fact I have a shared experience of living digitally; but, would it be nice to have more options? Would it be better if you can eat outside with your friends and family while talking about what’s new in the social media? Digital living should not be a substitute to reality living, rather, it should be a compliment. Digital and reality living can go together, and life will be much better if they go together.
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