04/09/2021
WE, TECHNOLOGY & LIFE!!
Technology has changed our lives to the point that we cannot even imagine life without it, and it is an integral part of our lives today. Social media has taken over everything; it’s a bigger business now & people have begun to live off it.
The invention of so many applications and the kind of platform everybody gets, to grab the limelight and become famous is amazing!! Gone are the days when people struggled hard to get that one golden opportunity to showcase their talent, especially artists.
Now it’s an easily available platform for all and if you have a talent then, the sky’s the limit. It’s like your success is just a click away. All you need to do is just pick the right platform, the right content, and that's it!!
From children to elders, they are all in love with social media. But as they say, everything in excess is poisonous. As some of us have developed an addiction to this. We have the talent recognition platform and that's great, but some people need help to get rid of this addiction.
As some eople are busy checking their phones all the time, even if they are surrounded by their loved ones. They've got half their minds on the phone. Busy in their virtual world or rather they are so immersed in cell phones that they do not realize of getting disconnected from the real world.
As some of them use their kids to become famous. Sometimes they even force them to do anything on the camera that does seem FUNNY to them. Once or twice, it’s ok to spend some time making videos of your kids. But when their videos become viral and they start getting followers, parents go crazy and can go to any extent to force the child to act as per the script.
I know some bloggers and Instagram influencers who are busy publishing their kids day to day activities. In most of the videos or insta stories, kids look irritated and annoyed. The only people smiling in the videos are their parents. Sometimes they force them to wear strange clothes and dance to some item numbers or party songs as it is ”so cute and extraordinary” (according to them).
This is only one example of many. I have seen kids busy making Tik Tok videos all day and their parents are so proud of them. They do not even realize that it's their age to play and they should spend most of their time in the playground instead of mobile phones. Parents these days have this excuse that when they were kids they did not have these opportunities to show their talent, so why not give this to our children. To some extent, this point is valid, but there should be a limit.
People feel stressed for not having enough followers or likes or comments on their posts. Some of them even fight with their friends or family members just because they didn’t like or comment on their posts. It’s no longer funny. I saw people planning and plotting ” how not to like a particular person’s posts’’ just because he/she didn’t like theirs. Many of us might have experienced this or did this.
We take it as a joke so far, but these young kids are serious about it. This is now part and parcel of their way of life. I have seen some of the teenagers busy playing games and chatting within their so-called gaming groups all day! it's a form of social status maintenance for them.
One boy in our neighborhood died because of PubG. He was playing the game overnight. He lost control over his fingers and got unconscious in the morning. A few days later I heard someone saying that in that unconscious state his fingers were still moving like he was playing the game on mobile. Some parents are so busy with their phones that they have actually forgotten the face-to-face communication with the kids. If the baby is crying, they show something or other on mobile or TV. A lot of kids start talking very late because of a lack of communication. Pediatricians suggest parents not expose them to screen at a very tender age. The more they communicate with the child the fast he/ she will start speaking and it will help to build up his/ her vocabulary.
A friend of mine is experiencing vision problems due to the overuse of mobile phone and laptop. These are serious issues and we must address them before it is too late. Many of us have the habit of watching something on mobile all the time. We don’t realize that in the long term, it’s going to hurt our eyes. Most of us facing sleep disorders due to excessive use of phones. In the long run, it will cause loneliness, depression, distraction & anxiety.
Trolling is another serious matter if you have a weak heart, it can break you easily. This is a kind of negative feedback that comes from different platforms and can damage mental health. So it’s our responsibility to look out for what we are posting on social media as these days any content can go viral at any time. People keep a close eye on the content we are sharing, so if it’s inappropriate it can end up embarrassing us & getting caught in an awkward situation.
Social media bullying is also the worst thing about it. Most people make fake accounts of others, to tease people or to malign someone’s reputation. Some threaten to leak personal videos, photos, chats, etc. on social media. Mostly teenagers & kids get affected by this. Sometimes adults also have to face this kind of bullying. Some of them attempt su***de or harm themselves if caught in such situations. So think twice before trusting people & posting something online.
Hacking is another disadvantage of social media according to the survey highest no of hacking cases took place in 2019. Hackers hack into the accounts & steal information or money. Or they blackmail you!! Isn't it disturbing? that someone is trying to interfere in your personal life and can ruin it forever.
Cheating & relationship issues are the topmost! Many of them have found life partners on social media but very few are lucky to have found a trustworthy partner. It’s difficult to trust as cybercrimes are happening alarmingly!!
Another phenomenon has arisen and this is called "Doctor Google". As some people Google every single symptom of their illness, even I was one of them! but soon I realized it's unreliable and will make your anxiety levels go up. so it starts like this..... when they are not well before going to the doctor they go to the ”Doctor Google”. So this googling of symptoms can cause stress because if you Google any health issues it will end up showing you some fatal disease condition. CANCER!! is always on top of it 😂 This health anxiety is termed as ' hypochondria' but now in the internet age this is called ' cyberchondria😃
So I would therefore like to conclude that we are blessed to have this advanced level of technology so make good use of it!!
- Vrushali Chaudhari
