In the last decade, the classroom ambience has changed exponentially—not much in the physical environment but in the ethos. The students no longer prefer to take notes; instead, they sit leisurely and just mention, “Share the lecture and the links”. I see this as an alarm because the learner omits the step of communication and collaboration to discuss debate and seek answers to evolve and instead prefers to rely upon a device that doesn’t engage him or her constructively. This directs attention to the changing sociodynamics where gadgets are managing the youth, and the pity is that youth have willingly tied themselves to these leashes and have become socially awkward. The most alarming thing is that life does not amuse the youth as much as it once did, and perhaps this is the reason that the need for amusement is growing every day. In times to come, the only thing that will amuse will be amusements.
It is disheartening to see that the youth are unaware of the beauty of petrichor. They do not want to pause and smell the flowers on the journey. The only beauty in their hands is yet another ameliorated mobile phone, which is mostly used for entertainment. The modes of entertainment have become bizarre as they are based on creating a pseudo-belief system. Dreaming is good, but a dream devoid of life is degeneration. Chimps driving Teslas are still chimps, no matter the demagoguery. We must remember that, in savage hands, every tool is a weapon.
Sometimes I wonder if the children really need a personal mobile phone before high school. I see very young children engaged in clicking pictures and sharing them, making reels on various social media platforms, and then spending hours to weeks waiting for validation in the name of likes. Is our understanding of being ‘technosmart’ limited to being able to order online, pay online and actively post pictures over online platforms? Isn’t this a quixotic ideal? The techno-smart world has stripped the children of their innocence, and to make matters worse for society, it has engaged them in disruptive activities that ensure that they will never be able to maximise their potential and reap benefits in the near future. This has brought about a paradigm shift in the attitudes and values of youth.
I meet a lot of students who have become successful as per societal evaluation norms but usually lack emotional stability and peace within themselves. Quite a few of these successful youngsters feel anxious, envious, gloomy, and exploited and have no answer when asked “Kaise ho beta?” Happiness is a collective responsibility and is never a destination but a journey.
Technology is a powerful tool, and its power has been witnessed during the pandemic. It became a lonesome factor that equipped the learners to connect the missing dots during online classes, carry out rigorous practice, seek feedback, and receive necessary intervention. Technology was a game changer for students who were out of classrooms and brought textbooks to life. It worked like magic for a person who had a concrete foundation and knew what not to absorb. The non-sagacious use during the pandemic led to addiction, compromised fundamentals, behavioural issues, digital dementia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. We, as teachers, are still witnessing the domino effect.
Everybody advocates that the times are changing and that technology will rule the world. The statement is perhaps true because, in many aspects, machines have intervened and automation has become the norm. Robots and algorithms are taking over tasks that were once done by humans. This has led to companies saving time and money, but it has also posed a threat to employment and a decline in the value of human labour. The most subtle but artful way is the one in which our attention, behaviour, and responses have been modified by artificial intelligence. It has been designed to keep us hooked, passively occupied doing nothing constructive, and above all, creating a never-ending engagement cycle that makes us anxious, depressed, non-productive, vulnerable, and socially awkward. The question then is: who benefits? The rich nations who hire the youth from developing nations to develop their resources and create markets and loyal customers? We have been made powerful, but we are far from being wise for ourselves.
It is the need of the hour that teachers and parents cohesively collaborate via strategic policies and action plans. All policies and actions will go down the drain if we, as adults, cannot be inspiring role models. Children are great imitators, so we must give them something great to imitate. Children look up to us for guidance and inspiration. It is up to us to give them images of hope, leadership and strength.
The writer is a teacher based in Delhi.