Stark reality between reel & real life

We are in the digital age of 2024 where there is no lack of sensory stimulators.

Today we have a plethora of choices in terms of content, media, and entertainment, so much so that the line between what is true and what’s fake is getting harder to see.

If I were given a choice to borrow a thing from the past, it’s surely the innocence of living our childhood without overexposure to things that are not relevant nor needed in the first place.

I relish the days when returning home from school was all about the snack time followed by a play zone (real ones) without the need to be glued to devices. Creating memories was real, conversations were fun, and most importantly, days used to seem so long and slow.

When I look around me today, I see all of us including kids gluing to the black box in hand which offers everything at our fingertips. The connections have moved from being real to numerical, conversations moved from long soulful to shorthand typing, and memories merely being photos taken for the gram.

Truly reel life has captivated the real & how?

From being shy to performing a well-trained skill among the relatives, we are headed towards showcasing basic skills to the entire world (digital world) in the hope of garnering a few likes & short-lived fame. Social validation has become so crucial today that at times I am afraid of what this will do to our mental health in the long run. Being viral has become more vital than being real. The number of kids and teens hopping onto the bandwagon called social media is concerning as it might snatch their innocence way too early. We cannot deny the unrealistic expectations that are shaping young minds which will leave an impact.

If there was a yardstick to measure the determination of one’s mind in today’s setup, I am sure most of us would have a meager value for it. Reason : varied number of distractions that come our way every single moment. I believe it's so much harder to achieve mastery in today’s age than the time that we grew up.

This post is not only to address the elephant in the room from adults p.o.v, but to think about our future generation who are entering the zone and considering it as a new norm. Where will the benchmark settle? What would we do when it's way too much out of her hands?

There are a lot of benefits that the digital age is offering and I am not here to deny that, but what’s that we are trading off is a constant question that one battles with each choice we make.