Tech Takes Over
Do you still remember the word Face-to-Face? Well if you don’t, then welcome to the new world. The world which the ‘New York Times’ mentioned as the “Google World.” Imagine the world without Google. The world without Gmail, Chrome, Youtube, Android, Playstore, Voice Assistant, Maps, News, and the Search engine — Isn’t that the Stone Age? We’re living in a world in which if you have to recall a memory, you see the selfie or the screenshot of that moment; A world in which you’re scared of being judged by the people whom you didn’t even know that still exist after your high school graduation. And in addition to that, the COVID-19 pandemic has helped the internet gain more users as the business meetings, classes for students, and appointments for patients are being held online. It’s wonderful that you know how to use the internet, but do you know everything? What about your privacy and are you sure that you’re not addicted to it? Are you sure that you’re not another lab rat of the new app or the website? These apps you install get access to almost everything on your phone and in addition to that, you save your internet banking or credit card details in these apps so that it’ll be easy for the next purchase. Do you realize how easy you are making it for hackers out there?
This Digital Age led to the dullness in the children and it plainly is the main reason for their laziness to work. Children now are addicted to this new drug called ‘Gaming’ which is as addictive as coke or meth. According to a survey by Statista, there are almost 365 million teenage gamers in India itself. There has been a spike in the growth rate to about 165% from the year 2016 to 2018 due to which, India ranked the highest in terms of the growth in online game downloads. But guess what? Teenagers have the special ability to switch between mobile, television, and computers at the same time. Isn’t that superhuman? According to The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, over 164 million Indian teens now use social media websites and as the number increases, so does the cyberbullying which damages the mental health of the child. India ranked no.1 in cyberbullying when compared to other countries. Though the internet has many advantages like it allows you to express ideas without any hesitation, building your social skills, and teach you stuff that you’re interested in, it also brings you to fear. It makes others decide the things for you. When was the last time your kid went out to play or when he said that he met someone with whom he became good friends in no time? Overuse of technology spoils the memory and causes irregular sleep cycles. It makes you apathetic in remembering things. According to the study “Brain anatomy alterations associated with Social Networking Site (SNS) addiction,” it is said that the use of Social Media can induce many Psychological disorders in teenagers including lack of concentration, change in the thought process as well as the change in the brain anatomy. Out there in the present world, there are numerous teens thoughtlessly spending the majority of time scrolling through social media posts and checking out for any new messages or notifications.
Social Media is helping us to get through the days in this lockdown, but what if we’re used to it even after the pandemic? Social Media not only helps us to chatter over the internet but also builds a room around you that doesn’t allow you to socialize with people. It makes you feel like you need more privacy in your life, but the truth is that you’re avoiding yourself from people. With over 3.14 billion active Facebook users, i.e., over 40% of the world population, these social media sites release a new update once in a while like Reels for Instagram, Disappearing Messages and Payments for Whatsapp and New design with Dark Mode for Facebook to attract more users, which in return also leads to the increase in Fake websites, commercials, companies and moreover the mass spreading of the false news into the bargain.
