How often do you see people travelling in a metro or a local train or a car pool without their mobile phones? How often even do you, yourself, look up just to look at people and notice what they are doing? How often have you made plans with your friends or relatives without using a WhatsApp group? Or can you, today, find a young kid who doesn’t know how to download an app? Now that you know what I am talking about, let’s think about it for a moment and try to understand what kind of a shift it is that we’ve voluntarily signed up to in the name of ‘need of the time’.
Losing The Human Touch
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When was the last time you handwrote a letter for someone? The usual texting, mailing and other technological marvels are well and great but things like handwritten letters communicate something very personal. Similarly, when was the last time you made plans to see your relatives rather than sending them ‘forwards’ or video calling them? A gesture of taking the efforts of a face to face visit can sure be taxing, and you may not even feel invited, but that way you’ll get to know who got your back and who doesn’t. Body language is an important humanly characteristic that technology is engulfing at an alarming rate. And well, for some of us who want to retain it- you can start with those mix tapes and post-cards!
Becoming ‘Digital’ To Compete
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Globalization makes it a requirement for every country to tread the tracks that all the technological advanced countries are on. What we term as ‘generation gap’ in countries like India, which had been less technologically advanced, is actually how the current generation had to leapfrog- using the latest technology that previous generations did not have. We sense the repercussions now! We notice and frown upon how the current generation likes everything unlimited, wants to keep moving and fears missing out on even smallest of updates. The quality to wait or defer things in today’s date is absolutely missing. So, we instead order food at our home, in the comfort of our pyjamas because it is way too effortful to have a family meal at a restaurant, right? I guess it’s time to rethink what we are actually missing out on.
Overpowering Matters Of Cultural Prestige And Status
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Isn’t it the *hot topic* of your group if suddenly you have thousands of followers on your social media handle? Or when you get a latest smart watch? Our content and language of choice is being overruled by the language of power- English, recognized as “official” in India. Also, India is a hub of diversity, and bringing them all together as one is our culture. Then why do we find youngsters and children growing up today watching American-based popular sitcoms like F.R.I.E.N.D.S. or The Office and find it less ‘fashionable’ to watch Shaktiman or Kasauti Zindagi Ki? Are we embarrassed to accept the cultural reality that is out there? Does that then affect our tolerance and accommodation with the generation above us? Is then being brotherly just a pretention to get those likes and be popular amongst everyone? Because if that’s true, we are losing what used to make us stand out across the world.
In conclusion, all I feel is that today what may seem like a need of the time may or may not be required to evolve as humans. However, we forget that we are also being potty-trained in a very capitalistic, institutionalized and, funnily enough, emotional way to NOT look at the option to “choose to not choose”. Dumbing it down for myself and for everyone around me, experiment yourself with a sort of detox once in a while and see how it plays out. It can help you stop worrying about what updates you just missed out on, what comment you didn’t react to or what movie-reference you weren’t aware of. Missing out is as much human as is connecting to what’s here and now in your surroundings. And it is also something that can bring us together as people above and outside those screens.
