Iam not a scientist of any kind, nor do I have any data to support my view
However, as an ardent observer, here are a few noteworthy points that may resonate and help you reflect on your social media life.
I’ve noticed in the past few years.
Many houses in Hyderabad have given up reading Newspapers. However, we are an exception, and we still look forward to our Newspaper boy delivering Telangana Today and Siasat (an Urdu daily) to our house.
My mother also writes articles for the women’s weekly column in Rehnuma-e-Deccan, another Urdu daily newspaper in Hyderabad.
While newspapers are supposed to deliver news, a major change I observe as a reader is that I have to search for it because of the number of advertisements that have encroached on every portion of it.
The notion of front page news, which once used to be a game changer, is passé.
Yet on special occasions like a religious festival, newspapers make sure to include lengthy articles and points of view for our perusal, and here’s what has changed.
Every Morning, my mother enjoys her sunshine, a cup of tea with newspaper reading, which used to be an hourly affair, but since she has started playing crossword on her tablet, and colouring pictures via a touch screen, her interest in holding a newspaper and reading into the details has slowly reduced to a mere 7 minutes.
Every day, it is my duty to collect the newspaper and prepare breakfast, and in doing so, every time I pass by her, I find her all engrossed in her crossword, and when I inquired, you finished reading the newspaper in a record 5 minutes.
Pat comes her reply, there is nothing new in the newspaper !
The articles are good, but very lengthy, and she says the very sight of one additional paragraph puts her off, and the next immediate thing she wants to do is play with the tablet, browse YouTube, watch shorts and also ask a few random questions in AI using her voice command. I’ve taught her all of these.
But never knew this would make her so impatient with lengthy reads.
Now, about me, if my mother’s from an ardent reader, has turned into a hasty newspaper skimmer, Iam not far behind. At the outset, I am not active on any social media platforms except Twitter and LinkedIn, which I use solely for my Coaching services.
However, I have long since lost my patience, and this is reflected in the way I watch movies, web series, or read books.
Every book Iam reading, after every third page, I am jumping to the last section or trying to read the summary to get the gist of it , but I have an exception here, which are books of #RuskinBond which I cannot disrespect and have re-read them with no count of how many times.
For web series, even before the first episode, I read the story on Wikipedia, review the plot, and with the TV remote in hand, fast-forward whenever I feel the need, which I almost do in every episode.
I don’t binge-watch any series, regardless of how popular or good they are, but I also have no patience for watching whatever little I do watch, and I wonder why.
This is me, an individual who is not active on social media. Yet with whatever little Iam on, my patience levels have dipped and a haste has enveloped my subconscious mind.
This then reflects in my behaviour, whether it’s watching, reading, or coming across anything that my mind (brain) perceives as needing effort, and I skip it.
My meditations are also worth mentioning here, in which I’m pleased with my meditation teacher’s generosity and humility. He never judges and says it’s allowed to be here, but I am sure that the day I divulge my hastiness, he may lose his patience too!
That’s how chaotic it is
And to add more fuel to the fire (inferno), we have AI, which may further erode and create or deepen the neural pathways in the mind, where we become lazier by the minute, and anything that requires an iota of effort may be perceived as tedious by our brain.
I guess my brain is already doing that, even with the minimal exposure I’ve allowed.
In my view, if this is not addressed now, the haste may become our primary way of being, turning us into a haste hack-driven individuals forever in search of a mindful moment!
Or
Have we already arrived?
Here are a few links in case you want to read more about it
Warmly,
Mehnaz Amjad
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