Is Technology Robbing Children of their childhood

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The advent of technology has truly revolutionized each and every sphere of life. The computer and the internet have been major technological tools that have facilitated this revolution. Ranging from productivity and efficiency in any activity, to virtual connectivity amongst people, the benefits of technology can hardly be underestimated. However, just like every coin has two sides, technology has also placed some roadblocks in people’s paths to social and intellectual development. I feel that one of the biggest banes of technology has been that it has robbed children of their simple childhood and innate innocence. With the growing addiction to computer games, online networking and aimless browsing, playing outdoor sports, reading informative books, and spending time with one’s family and friends have become rarities and alien concepts. When one visits any park, playground or open space, the sight of a few children playing can be depressing. A person from a previous generation, be it one’s parents or grandparents, may tell you that their life-defining moments were experienced on a playground and not within the confines of a closed room. No computer can teach someone how to get up after a fall. No computer can make a child experience sunshine, rain or snow. No computer can teach a child to walk or talk. These teachings of life can only be experienced by venturing out in the open world and spending time with one’s family and friends. Computers have thus robbed children of some of the most simple and pleasant experiences of childhood. In my opinion, books are the biggest source of information and enlightenment for adolescents. The genesis of a curious and intellectual mind is the assimilation of thoughts resulting out of thorough reading of books and conversations with people. While articles can be read on the computer as well, computers offer a plethora of other distractions and make diligent reading of articles an extremely arduous task. Reading books at an impressionable age always stands one in good stead. Addiction to social networking, video games and similar other technological fascinations has made today’s children and adolescents rather mechanical and disconnected. The love, affection, warmth that emanates from family members and close childhood friends is often instrumental in moulding a child’s social skills and future. One may have a thousand friends on Orkut, Facebook and other networking websites, but there is nothing more gratifying than playing or spending time with a school friend or locality friend. As a matter of fact, most of my best friends today are my childhood friends. There is no doubt that technology should be used to aid children and adolescents in their endeavors, but in no event should it hinder their social and intellectual development and rob them of some of the most defining experiences. Technological fascination such as computers and video games should never replace sports or the printed word. If parents and teachers fail to strike the right balance between exposure to technology and exposure to the simple, often defining, experiences of life, they would be unwittingly stymieing the all-round development of today’s children and adolescents.

2011- The Year of the Common Man

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2011 was a year of major political upheaval. The Arab Spring reaffirmed that a nation should be run by the people and for the people. While the Arab Spring was violent in character, India showed the global community that a revolution can be orchestrated by virtue of peaceful and democratic tools. As 2011 draws to a close and we welcome 2012, it seems apt to recap a year that marked a significant change in the Indian political milieu and also to see what lies ahead for a nation embroiled in various political and social predicaments. For many years, Indian politics has been synonymous with corruption. The common man had come to accept corruption as way of life and voted in hope that some day, his/her elected politician would validate the vote. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA)was voted to power in 2004. With two world-renowned economists and an erudite Harvard Graduate at the helm of Indian politics, one would have imagined that constructive change in Indian politics would be on the anvil. On the other hand, different corruption charges vying for supremacy plagued our system. Over the past seven years, frustration and helplessness of the silent majority threatened to erupt but could not find a congenial vent. Six decades after independence, after spending trillions on education, health and food, and yet leaving two thirds of our people hungry, illiterate, unskilled and bereft of basic medical care, the government continued to enjoy immunity from a unified confrontation. The year 2011 changed everything. Out of nowhere, it was a 74 year old Gandhian, Anna Hazare, who channelized the anger of the Indian gentry and hoi polloi to lead an unprecedented, peaceful protest against corruption. The austere messiah shook the pillars of the government’s monumental arrogance and galvanized an entire nation to stand up and be counted. The age old adage ‘A democracy is of the people, by the people and for the people’ echoed repeatedly at the Ramlila Maidan (Delhi), Azad Maidan (Mumbai) and countless other maidans across the country. Such was the impact of the protest that even the Indian diaspora felt obliged to chip in and demand for an accountable and responsible government. While it would be immature and foolish to assume that the Lokpal Bill would be the panacea/right option for all our problems, the government failed to gauge the pulse of the nation and performed the reprehensible act of trying to tarnish the image of Team Anna. While you would expect a sane government to engage in dialogue to solve pertinent issues, it was absolutely preposterous to see the government indulging in puerile one upmanship. Of course, the voice of the common man could not be ignored and common sense prevailed when the government realized that it had no other option but to debate the bill in parliament. As I write this article today, the Lokpal Bill is being debated in the parliament. I re-iterate that this bill may not be the right option. Its various shortcomings are a different point of discussion altogether. But at least the government has woken up from its slumber and is contemplating to reweave (read change) India’s social fabric. At the risk of sounding pseudo-intellectual, let me confess that some of the problems facing multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-faceted India are too intricate to be solved by a simple bill or agitation. Also, not all our politicians are corrupt and are in fact facing the brunt of some inexplicable laws and policies that were endorsed, proposed and implemented by some of our parochial and power-hungry politicians. Be it the issue of Naxalism (refer to glossary), home bred terrorism (one cannot always point fingers at our neighbors), reservation or apathy to the North-East’s economic and social plight, we are stuck in a quagmire which is becoming murkier by the day. In my opinion, the concept of coalition politics has been the Achilles Heel of our democracy. While you may or may not endorse their bold actions or policies, would the shrewd, almost dictatorial, Indira Gandhi or even the more composed, articulate Rajiv Gandhi have been able to implement what they envisaged? Today, with the likes of Karunanidhi/Jayalalitha, Mamata Didi, Mayawati, Lalu Prasad Yadav (absolutely horrendous to watch him clamor for reservation in the Lokpal structure when deciding the content of the bill should be a priority) wanting a share in every pie and calling the shots from their palatial dens, it is not difficult to empathize with world-renowned economists, Harvard Graduates who are forced to pander to the whims and fancies of these minority parties. Ultimately, as trite as it may sound, the denizens of our nation suffer. India is an idea whose time has come. With a demographic dividend higher than that of most other nations, the biggest disservice we can do to our youth and working class is to bury them under the rubble of corruption and petty politics. Today, I feel optimistic about constructive change when I see Indians in India and countless Indians across the globe (just deciding to stay in your country does not make you a responsible, conscientious citizen) striving to battle corruption and empower and educate their brethren by various innovative and effective methods. Leading from the front, these conscientious citizens symbolize the Gandhian maxim ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. More power to them!