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| Sunday, 29 May 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The technosexual is here While metrosexuals worry over their looks and how they carry themselves around, their mod-squad cousins, the technosexuals, represent the Wild Wild East, toting their mobile phones as their ultimate weapon of communication and entertainment, and as a symbol of their supposedly refined tastes. by Ambreen Ishrat CHATTERING, laughing, buzzing, he gazes into the space and looks right through it into oblivion. He is sitting amidst the crowd, yet he is detached from the surroundings and oblivious of everyone around him. No, he is not a loony. Neither is he soliloquising, nor is he conversing with the Higher Force. He is merely talking to a pal on his mobile phone, while waiting for his other friends to show up!
Perhaps he is sending out a text message, checking his e-mail, playing a game or resetting the ring tone. You know him, don't you? He is the technosexual, a mod-squad cousin of the metrosexual. It seems that metrosexuality has a new alley. Day by day, the majority of our male populace is becoming mindful of the way they look, present themselves, how they carry themselves around and what gadgets they use. Move over your regular Joes, the technosexual male is here! It's the urbanised Wild Wild East and our technosexual Joes are toting their mobile phones as their ultimate weapon of communication, of entertainment and as a symbol of their refined tastes. So who exactly is a technosexual male and where does he come from? Here is how the official technosexual site (www.technosexual.org) and urban dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com) set out to define him: The technosexual (TEK.noh.sek.shoo.ul) n. dandyish; narcissist in love with not only himself, but also his urban lifestyle and gadgets; a straight man who is in touch with his feminine side, but has fondness for electronics such as cell phones, PDAs, computers, software and the web. The founder of www.technosexual.org is Ricky Montalvo and he wants to take technosexuals to the mainstream. He opines: "With metrosexuality, it's about style, fashion, culture and grooming for the straight male. A metrosexual man may be seen at an NBA game one night and an art gallery opening, the next. A technosexual man may not need to go to the NBA game because he can get highlights and scores via SMS or by browsing the web on his PDA while at the art gallery. "Technosexual is a term for people who are into lifestyle, fashion, home and grooming. But we take it one step further and we use gadgets as our new fashion accessory." In short, the technosexual revolution is all about a geek transmutation into the stylish and vice versa. Be it fashion shoots, catwalks, billboards or glossy fashion magazines, the technosexual has taken the centre stage. With his spiked, jelled back, bleached or streaked hair, a goatee or a frenchy, designer wear, complementing accessories and gadgets; today's urban male is a phenomenon in his own right. So why do gadgets and designer labels appeal to the technosexual sensibilities? As suggested by Montalvo, it is in fact the lack of having the feminine grooming accessories that drives technosexuals towards gadgets. He says: "You know, guys don't have accessories like purses and jewellery, and don't spend money on make up, so why not spend it on cell phones and cool messenger bags and watches." Having defined the term technosexuality itself, its connotations and implications; let's now take into account what role gadgets in general and a mobile phone in particular play in the lives of technosexuals. THE ULTIMATE BOY TOY: Of course, technosexuality is all about PDAs, laptops, DVD players, camcorders, even coffee-makers and portable vacuums. But in our society's context, the mobile till date remains the most portable and individual mode of expression. The mobile phone is the ultimate gizmo gadget, the eye candy! It comes in gazillion sizes, shapes and colours, with mind-boggling features. It's a part phone, part pager, part camera and part internet gadget, and this isn't the end of it. A full constituency of mobile users thrive on the style and status that come with owning the latest full-featured phones rather than security, connectivity and convenience. Technosexuals are everywhere. Walking down the street corner, riding the public transport, thronging at the cafes, socialising at the parties, these guys are everywhere, consistently seen at work or at play with their mobile phones. Technosexuals are making their presence felt on the social scene. Part jazzy, part geeky; they are enjoined together by shared passions. THE TECHNOSEXUAL CAMARADERIE: It is rightly said that the birds of the same feather flock together. Camaraderie is all about shared interests. That's why technosexual males connect well and hit off instantly. Most of their break hours are spent discussing the features of their DVD players, their mobile handsets or any other latest hardware revolution. They are the ones sending MMS, movie clips and simulated pictures in your inbox. They play Myst, Chuck Yeager's Air Combat or other computer games in order to refresh themselves! The technosexual gang prefer taking joint shopping trips to all the famous designer shops and shopping malls. The Bollywood gangster movies are relished and DVDs are recommended and exchanged enthusiastically. ONLINE COMPULSIVE DISORDER ... WHAT'S THAT? There's a growing number of physicians and sociologists who are assessing how technology affects attention span, creativity and focus. This preoccupation of the technosexual male in particular and a fragment of society in general with 'staying on' and 'staying connected' is a small but significant example of how OCD affects. Influenced by technology and the pace of modern life, we have developed shorter attention spans. Technosexuals in particular become frustrated with long-term projects, thrive on the stress of constant fixes of information, and physically crave the bursts of stimulation from checking e-mails, SMS, voice mail or answering the phone. It is the lure of date, the craving for the constant stimulation provided by the incoming data. Multitasking is not merely a social annoyance, it is also counter-productive, and even addictive. And this isn't all! Technosexuals in particular and people in general who happen to be excessively dependent upon technology, have a tendency to get bored soon enough with everything. They crave novelty by the minute. They want the updated versions of their gadgets, as soon as they hit the market. As a case in point, let's discuss another relevant topic that stems from the obsession for technology i.e. the frenzy to update and uptrade every time a newer gadget or its version hits the consumer market. UPDATE OR BOW OUT! When it comes to the craving for something new and the latest, mobile phone manufacturing companies as well as service providers seem to understand the psyche of the consumers very aptly. Newer and latest gadgets are debuting in the market with a maddening frenzy. The battle of the mobile service providers is waging equally strongly and prices are being slashed. You can take your pick. There is one handset to fit your pocket and suit your personality. But we should also be mindful that as soon as the latest model of a gadget hits the market, today's much coveted and over-priced handset would become a depreciated and out-moded commodity. Upgradation is not a trend with just mobiles; that's the way it is with everything. It's surely the age of upgrades, uptrading and upsizing. Forget about familiarity, durability and dependability. Get rid of the older car model, PC version and mobile, get your hand on the latest. Update or bow out! We can't dare to fall back into the upgrading game, so we have no qualms about spending a major portion of our earnings on cars, designer wardrobes, accessories, latest mobile phone versions, software and home entertainment units. This shows that, in spite of all the technological advancements, today's consumer culture is reigning more on freneticism and a conscious attempt at isolation. People's preferences in regard to how they keep in touch are undergoing a gradual change. Mobile phones in particular have invaded the sanctity of the intimate space that people share while having a conversation. Social gatherings and casual conversations are interrupted by phone calls. It is no longer possible to enjoy a seminar, a conference, a fashion gala or a play without being interrupted with the menacing filmi ring tones. People are also found either text-messaging or superstitiously checking their messages between ongoing conversations. What's the point of attending a social gathering, paying exorbitantly high entrance fee for it, when you are not willing to unwire and unplug yourself long enough to enjoy it? Technology has attempted to bring people closer, and it has to a great extent. But at times it seems more like a semblance, because it is now re-defining its ways regarding how people prefer to keep in touch. Sometimes people living in the same city prefer to keep in touch with each other through e-mail or text-messaging rather than meeting in person or placing a phone call. We are constantly buying gadgets that allow us to stay connected, but also allow us to choose isolation over face-to-face human contact. Hence, we cannot criticise technosexuals or even metrosexuals or their lifestyle without re-evaluating our own social habits and values, as segments like these exist only as extensions of the society that we have created for ourselves. The technosexuals merely stand as a small reminder of the bigger, subtle and all-encompassing change that our social scenario is undergoing, i.e. we have become the kind of society which places superlative importance on one's looks and material possessions, rather than the true essence of one's inner being.There still is something very becoming and endearing about a person who is less conscious of his or her looks and more conscious of the manners, one who can converse equally well on books and literature and not just latest mobiles and movies. He can be someone who isn't fidgeting all the time with his mobile phone while having a conversation with you, and is able to look up and look into your eyes as he talks. But we are more willing to thumb through and understand the complex users' manuals than to attempt to understand each other. Conclusively, we are more willing to relate to automation gadgets than to other human beings. Courtesy The dawn
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The conversation comes to an end, but he affectionately keeps playing
with his mobile and running his fingers through his streaked hair. 
