Wired to be wireless: Teens imagine life sans connectivity

'Lost: Internet. Found: Plenty of time'

With her mobile data turned off, Raina Andrade took in 'new' sights, spoke to people 'whole-heartedly'

The world has evolved in a magnificent way. Almost every week a new phone, tablet or laptop releases, slimmer and better than its predecessor. It all started with gurus Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and their ilk. But then again, what if they had not invented anything? What if there was no Apple or Microsoft and no Google? It's difficult to imagine a world without the conveniences they provide!

Albert Einstein wisely said, "I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots." And I must admit that technology possesses our minds. Although it seems to be vital to communicate, I find my generation becoming dependent and addicted to it. I myself spend endless hours on the phone on most weekends. Streaming DIY videos and series of strangers' experiences. One fine day, I challenged myself to try to live a day without 'Internet connectivity'. It seemed a strange thing to do, but doable nevertheless.

It required me to turn off the Wi-Fi and the mobile data. On the days that I did have Internet, I would glance at my phone to figure out what classes I have, the day's schedule and submissions, etc. Now, I had to use my memory to recall everything and jot it down on an actual notepad with a real pen. One of the tasks for the day was to memorise the lyrics of a rap song. That seems simple, right? No. It's not so simple when you have to actually listen to the song and write down the lyrics instead of simply googling the lyrics. Fortunately, doing so helped me learn the rhythm and tune faster as I replayed the piece several times. Then I had to get to my class, but due to the lack of connectivity, I couldn't call a cab as I normally do using the cab-hailing app.

Instead, I had to wait for an available mode of public transport. And guess what, with no mobile to keep checking for updates, I actually looked around as we travelled and noticed daily sights that seemed 'new'. I had missed watching these thus far since I buried my face in my phone, relentlessly checking social media updates. Moreover, I actually got to exercise a little! Reducing the time spent switching apps and screens allowed me to relax. My family said I was a pleasure to be around as I was not edgy and quarreling with them to avoid doing routine chores. I even enjoyed a game of scrabble, the old fashioned way, with my sister.

All this made me realise that because I was not wasting time on social media, I indeed have a lot of free time to interact with family and friends. I also recognised that I was interacting wholeheartedly with those I came across. No doubt some amount of Internet browsing is necessary, but in the words of (Nobel awardee, historian and teacher) Christian Louis Lange, "Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master. Our little screens need not limit us and rob us of experiences."

(Raina Andrade is a 12-year-old student of Bai Avabai F Petit Girls High School in Mumbai. She loves music, singing and playing the piano)

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'Without technology, our generation shall be reduced to ashes'

Tanya Gupta can't imagine life without dark memes, funny cat videos and her Instagram feed

The meme-obsessed teenager of today has surrendered to the grasping claws of social media, music and all the wonder of Internet and spend days browsing the wide library of cinematic marvels that Netflix and Amazon Prime have to offer. They are entirely dependent on Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, websites on the world wide web and the miracle of the Internet. He or she is mostly attracted to places with good Wi-Fi connection and is regularly seen browsing popular social media sites such as Instagram and Snapchat.

The fact of the matter is, without technology, our generation shall be reduced to ashes — we study using electronic board projections; we shop online on e-commerce portals; now that we have eBooks, we read on Kindles or laptops or tablets; the news is played on the TV and newspapers are printed in electronic printing presses. If all these were to go, the very bedrock of our status as a functioning society would crumble. All those recreational activities — the electronic ones, will cease to exist — no dark memes, no funny cat videos, no music to sing the wrong lyrics along to and no Instagram feed to check at the most inconvenient of times!

Imagine the feeling when your phone runs out of charge, when you see the once colourful screen go dark! It's as if your heart is being crushed and your soul, ripped out. What relief when you plug it in as soon as you can and see that familiar screen flicker to light!

The thought of losing the phone, your only (well, one of the only) connection to the outside world is terrifying! What if you miss a text message from your best friend or a new upload from your favourite You-Tuber? It would be a calamity. Then, you rush over to your laptop to assure yourself that no earth-shattering events have occurred in the hour or two that you were sans Internet. After you've done so, you can finally go on with your life. Such is the dependency of our age on the metallic boxes that show us what we want to see, play what we want to hear and talk to whomever we want to. A world without technology would be empty and strange, one that our generation has never experienced, nor is prepared for. Imagine, we'd have to go back to watching films in auditoriums and go to libraries to look up something!

(Tanya Gupta is 14, and in class 9 in Step By Step School, Noida. An avid reader and music buff, her idea of a good time is to bingewatch web/TV series on the laptop or mobile phone)

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One tap too many

Connectivity is here to stay. So perhaps life is more rapid and a little more empty than it ought to be, says Amev Pereira

Seven soft chimes from the grandfather clock were enough for me to open my eyes and drowsily look about. I kicked off a comfortable duvet and sat up in bed pondering the need to attend school. With a knowing sigh, I got to my feet and stretched, gingerly pushing open the door to my room. Filling a bowl of cornflakes, I flipped through the first two pages of the newspaper, looking for any remarkable news and jumped straight to the last page — the football scores of the previous night.

I found that the team I supported had won. In small print, near the score, was a description of the goal. "An ecstatic shot from the edge of the six–yard box into the bottom corner of the goal". I took a moment to visualise the goal, wishing I had been there to witness it. I put down the newspaper, thinking of a way I could be in my room and still watch the match in Italy. I thought of a window that I could look through to watch it, but it seemed more like witchcraft than a possibility. '11th November 2017', read the date, with the forecast very boldly stating, "Heavy Rainfall''. I glanced outside at the bright sun and pleasant air and shrugged. A loud tapping sound emanating from the window indicated the arrival of a friend. I pulled the frame upwards to let her in, and sneaked her into my room. She handed me a sheet of paper — a test that I was to give in school the next day. With a sly smile, I shoved it into my backpack, and promised her my school lunch. The smile remained on my way to school.

Far off in a small hut at the edge of the town, another teenager lay on the cold floor, staring at the ceiling. A worn and chipped guitar lay against the wall, neglected. His mind ran between thoughts rapidly, with one greater than the rest. "Could he ever make it?" He had blown his one opportunity — an audition at a school of music. There was no platform left. He picked up a newspaper, where he looked through the classifieds. Perhaps 'Shawn Mendes' — grocery store employee, was more believable than 'Shawn Mendes' — famous guitarist, he thought as he circled a job opening, a tear rolling down his cheek.

By evening, a small convention of children had gathered at an orchard, laughing and running through the trees, their faces more radiant than the Valencia oranges hung from the trees. As it neared the half hour, falling down with pleasant exhaustion, the children silently watched, as the town was set alight by the hues of the sunset. The grass turned ochre, the trees, maroon. They changed shade after shade, like an artist utilising her palette. The sun finally turned his face on the town, and set into darkness.

A scream from a hospital, a doctor knowing he was too late to save a woman's life. Death had taken advantage of the weak legs of a nurse, who couldn't run fast enough to call a doctor.

The cracking voice of a nervous young man, hesitant to break into song. A bouquet of roses trembled in his hands. A smile from the right person gave him just enough confidence to pick up pace. He held a ring in his hand, knowing this would be the last song he sang as a bachelor. He would do it his way, in person.

A basement. A young boy. An abusive father. A belt. Stifled breath. No help. No hope. No escape. Footsteps. The sickening sound of leather against skin. No way to call for help.

How quickly we forget what life really is. Or what it used to be. With everything a few taps of a screen away, everything is closer, safer, better. However, it's time to take a step back and look at the world, and realise that perhaps, we have taken one tap too many. The narratives above depict a small town, unique in its own way, with its own stories and secrets. Connectivity would solve problems, and create them in turn. Perhaps a life could be saved.

Perhaps, a star could have been made. Perhaps, a boy with no voice could be given one. In the same way, perhaps, a man would take a knee through the glass of his phone. Perhaps, the children would stay home with smartphones in hand. Perhaps, people would care just a little less about what's happening around them and care about things that do not. At the end of it all, however fluid it may be, change is here to stay. It being better or worse cannot change the fact that it exists, and that connectivity is here to stay. Perhaps the new definition of life is more rapid and just a little more empty than it could be, but life goes on, however it is lived. The symphony of life, whether staccato or legato, is still a masterpiece.

(Amev Pereira is a Class 10 student at St Mary's ICSE, Mumbai. In class, his mind often wanders off to Naples where his favourite football team resides)
 

— Co-ordinated by Amy Fernandes, Gargi Gupta and Avril Ann Braganza