AN APP TO NOTIFY DEAD OR ALIVE SOUNDS MORBID! WHY NOT CALL UP AND SPEAK?

• Not for nothing, humans are placed at the top of the living beings/creatures since we are blessed with the capabilities to think, assess, assimilate, and act rationally, encountering different challenging situations life throws at us most adroitly. Mother Nature chose humankind as the anointed head of the chain for a reason. And humankind hasn’t disappointed either, since perpetually innovating/inventing/advancing has indeed become a part of our whole existence over the millennia. The revolutionary growth and development witnessed since time immemorial sheds light on how effectively humankind has succeeded in unearthing some of the most astonishing treasures from the abyss of Mother Nature.

PC: Medium

• The present-day world is defined by the incredible advent of information-technology-driven initiatives that are not only mindboggling but also have pervaded our lives so seamlessly in everything that we undertake. We know the power of digitalization efforts leading to social media storming the universe with such force. So much so that our daily routines are largely driven by technologies abundantly available to guide us unimaginably. While no one complains, we also cannot forego the humane touch that is so essential to remain grounded, even with the onslaught of cutting-edge technologies guiding us. The latest technology on offer can tell us about the passing of loved ones as well. Morbid as it may sound, why wait for that, though?

PC: Tyla

• Why can’t we simply pick up the phone or visit in person and say hello? Where there is a market, supply will follow. That an app monikered ‘Are You Dead?’ exists, that moreover it’s spreading in popularity from China to the US, tells us something about how society is changing better than an intense research paper can. In pursuit of fame and fortune, humans have been leaving their loved ones behind for millennia. But being left behind has never felt like this before. A parent growing old by herself in an urban high-rise, who has good food and healthcare on tap on her phone and may yet die without anyone finding this out for days, is not a nightmare scenario but a familiar reality. That’s the saddest part of our existence of late.

PC: Yahoo! Tech

• The app, called Si-le-ma in Chinese, requires users to check in daily by tapping a button, which has a ghost cartoon. If they fail to check in for two consecutive days, the app emails their emergency contact. Yes, the app could have been called, ‘Are You Alive?’ That the three developers who went the more morbid route are all Gen Zers (born after 1995) indicates how the app is not intended to ease just elders’ fear of dying alone and unnoticed. It’s not they alone who will be habiting the 200mn single-person households China expects by 2030. As someone has said on Weibo, the app also offers ‘the last bit dignity’ for young people living alone, for whom the scariest thing isn’t loneliness – it’s disappearing. Let’s value life more rather than become machine-like. Those who reach out, exchange messages, send flowers, and talk a bit is real connect. Isn’t it?