Clock is ticking…

We live in an era where people are always running behind something: money, careers, health, wealth, or ‘getting settled’. We become like machines that focus on everything other than stuff that actually matters. After almost one third of our life is over, we regret all this and say, “How happy I could have made my life! I could’ve just taken things a little lighter and not bothered too much about the wrong things.”

We think about how we could have spent more time with family and friends. We think…We think….

The Beginning..

90’s parents had it easy. What a relief for them that those times were not so competitive; they could afford to let us manage our time between play and study. We lived what I’d call a balanced lifestyle. Totally chilled out! We had hobbies, for heaven’s sake!

These days, though, kids spend most of their life with technology than they do having fun and just… being kids. From the time they are babies, parents tend to just shove a tablet or a phone in their faces ‘to keep them engaged.’ We learned things by observing our surroundings, seeing and feeling physical stuff. We have amazing childhood memories from all the crazy stuff we did.

I’m not saying I’m not a fan of technology–if I do, that would mean I’m living under a rock! We just need balance.

Worthy

People always have the tendency to blame others than take responsibility. There were two incidents that made me write this blog in the first place.

1. While travelling by train, I met an young couple with a kid who looked about 8 or 9 years old. The dad was busy watching something on his phone from the time the train started. His wife needed some help, but he was so glued to it that, eventually, his wife just did it. After a few minutes, the wife became glued to her phone with a headset on. The kids was so bored that she was climbing all around, walking all around the train.
2. Another incident on a train, similar to the previous one. This time, the kid was playing with a total stranger. During the journey, the kid wanted to use the toilet. When the stranger asked whether he could take her, the mom actually said “yes”.

During these two incidents, nothing harmful happened to the kids. But if something had happened, the first thing people would have said is “That person is a pervert! How can he do this to a kid?”, “How can they even kidnap a child”, and so on. But if you analyse it, we know who is responsible.

Is your child’s life worth less than a movie or a bit of entertainment?

Another Enemy

Inferiority complex! Another arch enemy.

Social media has made people “get inspired”. By that, I mean people focus on others’ lifestyles, and become obsessed with comparing their own lives with that. Men and women these days want to look thin or skinny because they feel that’s how people will accept them. Being healthy and fit is a good thing, but the question is whether you’re losing weight for fitness purposes or because you feel the need to follow the so called ‘in’ thing. I believe we need to accept how we are. Just like every baby looks different and adorable, so are we. It’s just that we adults feel the need to define ‘beauty standards’.

Social media has made us focus more on others’ lives rather than our owns. So, use it wisely. See how you can use the tools out there to learn something or showcase you skill and talents. There is nothing naturally good or bad about social media. It’s how we make use of the things around us, that decides whether they will benefit us.

Balance the Scales

So how do we balance life and technology?

Let’s start with time we spend with family. Most of us who are working spend just a few hours with our families. It’s only during a family occasion that we catch up with each other. Maybe you say that you keep your parents and/or spouse updated through WhatsApp. Even then, once we’re home, we are back in our little tech worlds, and forget reality. We try to sort out problems through messages rather than talking about them in person. Which is better-a message or a personal conversation? If we could calculate the time we spent speaking to someone at home or joking with them, I’d bet it’s much lesser than what we could’ve actually spent.

Friends… Well, this area quite different. We share most of our daily updates through stuff like WhatsApp. My thoughts: if your friend lives abroad or something, you get very little time to share in person. If you’re having lunch/tea with your friends, see if you can put away that phone of yours and spend time with people. Spend more time having face-to-face conversations than texting. It just doesn’t bring out the actual emotion you feel that moment. When you speak something, people get what you’re feeling much easier than when you have to use emojis!

Finally!

Our life is something no one can guarantee. In just a second, anything can happen. The person who was sitting next you just yesterday may no longer be there. So if you want to say “ thank you” or “sorry”, just say it. Life is very short–live every moment like it’s your last.

For all those addicts!