Childhood is a time to have fun and enjoy the rainbows in the sky before the realities of life sink in. It is time to enjoy the special privilege of a carefree childhood. But the beautiful moments in our lives have been taken over by artificial provisions. Smartphones have provided us everything to keep us busy and taken over the charms of the previous years.
There was a time when board games like Life, Picnic, Ludo and Monopoly were a rage. There was a time when such games were present in almost every house. There was a time when the outside weather mattered more than the phone’s battery percentage. It used to be so much fun. Like the world itself, these games have also been digitised. We may find our beloved games on the phone. We may even enjoy playing them. But can you flip the board over when it seems that you are losing? Can you move the pieces to your benefit when nobody is looking? Can you somehow manage to end the game and start again when the elder sibling always seems to have more money and more cards than you? No, we cannot do any such thing. The days of arguments and fights, and throwing of boards and player pieces have been relegated to huddling together, and hours of looking at a bright small screen. The games do have their charm and attraction but the medium has changed. Ludo is still enjoyable with the various forms available on our smartphones.
But the problem is that too much time is being spent on the artificial forms of games and books than the real forms. Almost every young child has mastery over the smartphone. They are hooked to them right from their toddler years. A child who barely knows how to read will show you how to operate the password locked phone, open YouTube and sometimes even dial a number! They learn to operate the phone faster than walking and reading. I have seen and heard of parents who hand over the phone immediately when their baby starts crying. It is indeed a convenient way to make a child quiet. But in the long run, they get habituated to using smartphones. Some of these kids grow up with zero manners. You ask them something and they won’t answer or give you a shy little smile. They won’t even look up from their phones! On being coaxed by their parents, they might respond once and that too without looking up. The worst part is when parents acknowledge that this is a habit they got their kids into and then laugh about it.
Everyone loves their smartphones. Everyone loves to flick through them. Everyone loves to enjoy a little game or a book while on the go. Even me. But, the finer arts are always better than the virtual world. I am one of those who, in today’s world of PUBG and Kindle, still enjoy the dusty Ludo boards and the smell of new books more. Don’t you?
