Last Generation

When I was a kid, I always wanted to play video games. My parents did get me a gaming console late in my childhood (towards the end of my schooling). I was so excited to get it, I was at it on every given opportunity. Within a week it got burnt. Yes, literally it was up in smokes. (My mom put it, I killed the golden goose.)


What that meant was I continued to spend time outdoors. I have played every childhood games that were known to exist then. I climbed trees to pluck fruits, I chased butterflies, and I  played in mud while plowing friend’s paddy fields. I played cricket and soccer on hot summer afternoons. I did get hurt many times and fall sick many times. My parents never deterred me from going outdoors. Nor did I hesitate to get right back to the fun. I remember once I played foot-volleyball with sprained ankle. Sometimes what I attempted was close to being stupid. But at that age, it was all fun and play.


When I see the kids now, I do not see the desire in them to have fun outdoors. They are happy to be playing with the new age gadgets and gizmos, indoors. Earlier, the indoor games used to be ones that exercise the brains or provide a family fun time but that has been replaced with games that promote mindless shooting and scrambling. I did not find it odd. Probably my long lost love for gaming consoles blinded me.


One day, when my kid started walking, I held his hand and helped him walk towards a coffee shop from the car. On the way, he got fascinated by a dry leaf on the pavement, flying around in the fall breeze. He promptly wanted to chase it.

When I was a kid, I did not have the wide choice in programming in TV like we have with Cable TV today. It was restricted only to the programming of the Government run television channel. Lack of choices was a minus, but the time it provided for non-TV things in life was a big plus, which prompted us all to be a better social animal than what we are now.

I do not have the right be preachy here. I have gleefully adopted these changes as a way of life. But when I look at the next generation, it makes me question whether I am doing the right thing or not. By locking myself in this technology driven “i”-life, I think I am setting a wrong precedence for the next generation. 

We are the generation that had/has the best seat in the house to see the launch of all iThings. I don't want us or my future generation to end up like the human passengers in Axiom Space ship shown in movie WALL-E. (If you have not seen this movie yet, plan to see it now)

As a little effort to keep the fun spirit alive in my kid, I have decided to shut TV off at least one day every weekend and spend that time outdoors. Not at a shopping mall gazing incessantly through windows. But spend time at a park playing with my kid, making him feel connected with this beautiful thing called The Earth. 

Choice is ours! We either become the Last Generation that knew what it meant to live life connected to this planet or become the Lost Generation.

Revolution 2.0

Since beginning of 2011, countries in Middle East have been facing public uprising. It started in Tunisia and spread across the countries in North African continent. The impact is felt across the South Eastern Europe too. I have been hearing mostly about the events happening in Egypt. It could be because of US media’s obsession with Egypt or because the uprising has been active (sans resolution) for over 4 weeks now.

Every revolt in the history has had a face to it, which in a way has defined the course of the revolt. The recent events in my opinion, are more a result of people coming together to express their opinions to their Government/Authority. This lack of a face to the revolt made it difficult for some opinionators to understand and explain it. There were a few who thought Mr. Mark Zuckerberg, the man behind Facebook, was the leader of this revolution.

Though people used social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to organize, Twitter did not have a popular face behind it. Hence did not make the cut. Facebook has been in news for enough reasons and the recent movie about the website and the man behind it, did no harm to Mr. Mark Zuckerberg’s news value.

In an interview to CNN, Google executive in Egypt, Mr. Wael Ghonim labeled the revolution happening in Egypt as Revolution 2.0. The reason being the role technology has played in this revolution.

I am not here to argue who is right and who is wrong. Nor do I know whether uprising is just or not. I do not live there so I do not know what is good for the people in those countries. People who live there know what is best for them.

I do not know what will be the outcome of these revolts and I do not want to speculate. Neither do I know if Facebook was the idea of Mr. Mark Zuckerberg or was it stolen by him from Winkelvoss twins. I know for sure that these social networking sites are becoming an integral part of our everyday life.

I see these social networking sites as tools that shrink the geographical distance between people. This function can be used for whatever purpose the user deems fit. These networking sites have definitely had a positive impact in my life. I have got in touch with long lost friends, shared moments with friends who live miles away from me.

These social networking websites - neither are they the reason why this world is a better place nor are they the reasons why this world has deteriorated to chaos. Whatever happens in our life and in our world is a direct result of our actions.

Let’s make this a better place!