By Dishi Solanki:
I was running short of a good topic to write an article on. I thought everybody had already shared their words on CWG or may be the FIFA fever. I was completely lost in the dilemma when suddenly my mom screamed loud bringing back my senses. Well the scolding obviously wasn’t for me but for my younger sister and the very content gave me this topic.
Mom: Richika its 6pm and it’s high time you go out and play instead of gazing at the computer..
Richika: I will but let me finish this game.
Time flew and the clock struck 7 with my sister still in the same posture hardly blinking her eyes and my mom’s words falling on deaf ears.
I guess most of my friends reading this piece would agree to witnessing the same situation at their homes. Technology has crippled life of every kid around. Gone are the days when streets used to be full of enthusiastic bunches of children. Albeit the playing sessions are still on but with an Xbox 360 or a computer with virtual playgrounds. Kids do enjoy savoring FIFA or maybe a Nadal game but just on the T.V. To find a new Sachin Tendulkar emerging from those streets is almost an impossible situation to imagine.
Today all they do is sit on the couch and watch television. If the television was to vanish, they would just go to the computer for entertainment. If the computer was to dissolve, there’s always the the cell phone, the iPod etc etc. The more gadgets one has, the more prone one is to use one. The gadget influence is so high that kids want everything done for them without any effort on their part. For years now it’s been plain to everyone with eyes that children are getting lazier and fatter. The bottom line is that the computer, television, cell phones and other gadgets of modern technology are fun. They are entertaining and some of it can even be educational but few offer the benefits of physical activity. Children no more enjoy and long for games sessions in schools. The parks today are full with the elderly group rather than kids.
Violent e-games bypass the brain’s fight-or-flight response and cause it to pump endorphins and adrenaline directly into the bloodstream — with no physical effort. A USA research says that video games are teaching teens to kill without pity or remorse, while at the same time turning them into couch whales. There has been an increase in the number of children facing depression at tender ages. Kids find gadgets to be better friends leading them to live a life aloof from society. No wonder they’re depressed. Who wouldn’t be, staring at a screen all day, lost in a world that isn’t real. The health nut of children has already perished due to weeds of tech.
Technology cannot be blamed. It’s the attitude that needs to be turned.
The writer is a Correspondent of Youth Ki Awaaz.
Image courtesy: http://children.foreignpolicyblogs.com/page/3/