As the famous English poet William Blake had rightly stated, “no bird can soar too high if he soars with his own wings.” Likewise, no human life can reach the top-most crest of proliferation unless it counts on the numerous perks of technology. It is true that technology has unlocked a “proliferated” human life, which was almost like a reverie even a few decades earlier. An adequately advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, as it holds the tremendous capacity of making our life a way better than it was yesterday. Today, every sphere of human life is being rapidly transformed under the magical influence of technology and science. But, are not we becoming slaves to it? Believe you my words, not even too terribly long back, our lives were not accustomed to revolving around the Internet, smartphones, social media and computers to make living worthwhile! Although, back then the ocean might not be within the human reach, our respective predecessors had still lived to the fullest with the old-school perks of life. In this below-mentioned excerpt, let’s see how technology has evolved our life over the course of time –

Digital communication is ruling the roost:
Gone are those days, when coffee shops, college canteens, and different street-side eateries were the entire nation’s living errrr….chatting rooms! People from different walks of life used to flock to different places to chitchat with each other. Unfortunately, this trend has become a passé today, courtesy virtual communication that have been introduced by smartphones, Internet, and a zillion social media platforms. If face-to-face communication was an object, it would be considered as a relic now, because the modern generation is inclined to convey their thoughts via telephonic conversations, instant messages, Facebook and Skype chats. Along with virtual communication, we have moved into a noiseless world of social media, where different human emotions are captured via statuses, memes, life quotes et al. Even the important conversations are being made today via chats or emails instead of the personal meetups. The mode of communication might have become a way more seamless today, albeit by kicking the archaic charm of personal communication to the curb!

Is digital communication begetting mute generation??
Let’s face the truth once – the arrival of social media and different instant messenger apps have changed how people used to communicate even a few years back. There was a phase, when everyone used to talk for hours by meeting each other or over their landline telephones. And that used to be acknowledged as a technique of relaxation between lovers, friends, parents-children. These days, the human interaction has turned into a mere textual-affair. It is unfortunate that one-to-one communication is getting redundant and being substituted with text/digital conversations, where we cannot actually gauge someone’s emotional stratum. Also, being overly exposed to social media and cell phones, we have grown a habit of editing our thoughts before conveying them, thanks to the readily-available emojis, dictionaries, etc. Each of these perks of the digital communication has somewhat sown the seeds of “one-to-one interaction anxiety” in us, and as a result to this, even the thought of talking to someone is freaking the hell out of us now!

Reading habits dissolving into oblivion:
Gone are the days, when libraries, bookshops or book fairs were the one-stop destination for the voracious readers. These days, the trend of flipping through books or magazines has become obsolete, thanks to different e-learning websites from where we can easily download a zillion books in PDF formats. Owing to this, even the fascination of buying books from the street-side bookstores has also dissolved in oblivion. Today, there is no necessity to tuck into a bookshop to purchase a book, because most of the books are now widely available on different websites. Also, the fad of reading from e-books has taken the readers’ world by storm. Many online shopping websites tend to sell these e-books at the best discounted rates, so the buyers can procure a large variety of options without burning a hole in their pockets. For the specific reading requisites, Amazon has also created Kindle, which is an electronic device where you can download legions of books with ease. You can read these books whenever you want, and the best part is that you need not carry them wherever you go.

Top-notch brands are just a click away:
Online shopping is a commendable brainchild of the technological advancements. The brick-and-mortar stores have lost their charms due to the inception of online shopping. A barrel of thanks to the major online stores e.g. Amazon, Flipkart, etc. for enabling us to make a purchase from our favorite international brands without even leaving the comfort of our abodes. To make online shopping a way more pleasurable experience, most of the online stores provide the buyers with loads of lucrative discounts and shopping deals. Even though online shopping is much more fetching, it is taking a serious toll on the traditional shopping rituals. With online shopping gaining a huge momentum, the conventional in-store shopping culture is losing its importance, thereby dragging the mass market retailers to the inevitable loss.

Parenting is becoming tougher:
Earlier, parenting was like teaching children via their personal experiences. Even the comic/fiction books were the best companions of children and parents back then. There was no Internet connection to provide kids with information on a certain topic. Parents used to rely on different books, newspapers and magazines to educate the young members of their families. With the proliferation of technology, parenting has also got restricted within the confinement of different online activities. It might be a boon for those parents who are too busy to educate or raise their children following the conventions. But it is a bane for those who want to bring up their kids keeping the old-school ethics and values intact.

Video games – a boon or a lethal bane??
Video games are frolic and fun. They can have utmost educational values too. Playing video game is said to enhance the eye-hand coordination, and might foster a way more positive social interactions as well. Also, people with plummeting athletic ability or interest can have the opportunity to compete in several other ways. For some people, indulging in video games can be a wonderful escapade from the worries and stress of today’s jam-packed lifestyle. But, too much of addition to video games can lead the participants to lack social skills e.g. building relationships, gelling with strangers, concentrating on daily works et al.

Plummeting quality time spent with loved ones:
Today we spend a very little quality time with our near and dear ones, thanks to the Internet and legions of handheld devices that could sting us with the venom of distraction. Every now and then, technology is causing us to violate our personal spaces, and thus building an unrecoverable distance from our loved ones. With WhatsApp or Facebook messages ruling the roost, the personal spaces for quality time or one-to-one interaction is rapidly losing the ground.

In a nutshell:
We have officially reached a tech-savvy era from where there is no turning back! Today, imagining a fulfilling life minus technology is anything but a hoax! Technology has undoubtedly created loads of opportunities for the millennials, but it solely depends on everyone of us to utilize it impeccably without getting excessively addicted to it. Happy reading folks!