A New Era

Morning queue at the underground station. How many people are not looking at their mobile?
The scene was worth a blip. First, because there was also a Westerner among the Thais. Secondly, because I was standing right in front of an advert soliciting the perfect selfie! Thirdly, because of the gentleman on the right-hand side with his earplugs!
This is a new era of total individualism - even in a country with a rich community culture. People live in their own sphere, oblivious of the rest. A world of digital reality providing escapism. Total estrangement. A world already predicted by Aldous Huxley, Georges Orwell, Anthony Burgess, or Arthur C. Clarke.
Is this the new era we live in?