It is no wonder that, in a short span, technology has taken leaps and bounds making itself an inevitable part of human life. Right from placing grocery needs online to feeding oneself, booking tickets online to commuting – today, everything takes place in a mere “click of a button”; in fact, in just a fraction of a second.
The launch of the world wide web made life easy like never before. And created the world with no boundaries. In other words, technology has made the unbelievable believable.
But with the huge quantum leap of technology to the future, aren’t we forgetting the analogue past that made us what we are today? How has it turned the globe all upside-down? Not unknown to many, Francine Cefola, co-author of the book ‘Tell It To The Future,’ once quoted: “There’s a great saying that if we don’t know where we come from, how can we know where we are going?”.
Those days, when one pretended to be the coolest, by holding a Sony Walkman or writing a letter to a pen friend, or a dear one. And when one figured out how the giant world looked so tiny in an atlas – those were indeed thrilling affairs.
Today, it’s all about the two I’s: “Invention & Innovation”. Hand-written letters have been taken over by mails and digital texts; top-up cards are now digital wallets, tuition centres are education apps, downloading movies/music to streaming movies/music online, all things have taken curvy roads claiming an innovative world.
With the passage of time, technology has taken a huge control over our lives. A new product and a newer version of the existing product is not exciting anymore. It has become a common thing. It could be a blessing for the new generation, but at the same time, it could be a not-so-likeable factor for many, especially a generation of the 90s or before that.
Being a 90s kid, I personally believe that it was the best of the era we lived in because the term “technology” was just jargon. There were five main games (commonly known as gutte), Antakshari for quick-memory minds, Chuppan Chupai aka hide-n-seek, gully cricket, football with pomelo fruit.
These not only brewed a fresh bonding among friends but with time, making it even stronger. (Trust me, I still have those gully friends as my adulthood partners. *Chuckles*)
My past memories not only make me ponder upon the fast-moving advancements but indeed make me go back to the point when I was a young girl who read about the Missile Man’s vision of a New India; which reflects in his book “India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium”, that of a developed India.
Reflecting on Kalam’s word, what keeps hitting me is the question I found therein: “Is technologically advanced India, a developed India? Is it only limited to infrastructure, technology, and economy, and not the overall human and societal development?”
From all the above-mentioned factors, I firmly believe that happiness lies in being minimalist, and not maximalist. And that seed is needed to be sown right from our childhood.
In my opinion, today’s kids are more engrossed in mobile phones and are unaware of the practical world. The fear of losing in the first place, in any event, be it academic or extra-curricular, has made their life so mundane, that all they believe is in this virtual world.
With the advent of smartphones, and smart games taking the forefront, life seems to be more of an artificial kind, thus, fading away from the social touch gradually. Living under thatched roofs, rather than concrete jungles, should teach values and add more to life rather than making one vulnerable and competitive in everything.
Before robot butlers, flying cars and exoskeleton suits cover the entire universe, it’s important to live in the moment and grow by observing things, not directly grasping to experience them. It’s now time to understand, that the essence of living lies in small happiness.
In present times, modern parents should understand and inculcate among kids the knowledge of sharing, joy, and happiness. Allowing them to play in the mud, reducing the usage of digital apps to learn each and everything to speaking their native language will not kill their curiosity; in fact, it will encourage them to learn more and more about the moving world.
To conclude, technology is best when it brings people together and definitely not by exceeding humanity. Furthermore, it should not make humans think about how powerful they can be.