Ever wonder if we rewound the world to 60 to 70 years ago, what would happen? In the times of our grandparents, they said: “Life was much simpler, people were more approachable and there were less complexities around in the world.” Well it’s easy to say, I am sure there were always complexities around, but maybe they are right.
We humans have made so much progress and have attained so many impossible achievements, not only in science and technology, but in everyday aspects of our lives. That still makes it difficult to say whether we have made life more simple or complex.
We need to progress, as all civilisations before us have. They have always moved forward and we, too, have to look ahead. However, we cannot move ahead at the cost of our environment and we are paying a heavy price for climate change nowadays. There might be some people who believe that climate change is a hoax and not believe in it, but we know it’s a reality and that the polar icecaps are melting. Temperatures are rising and global warming is happening.
Our grandparents, some of them have adapted to this new world. Some skype with their families in case they live overseas and some grandmothers have even become internet sensations, because they put some yummy recipes on YouTube. With change so many social media platforms have brought people together. There are both positive and negative repercussions. I see people connecting online more than they would like to connect face-to-face.
Teenagers, so many of them are having an identity crisis of sorts, not knowing how much of being online is too much or how many selfies are too many. We cannot live for Facebook likes only. WhatsApp is not the only way to communicate.
I remember my grandmother grinding the wheat with a manual grinder and it was a good way to exercise your muscles. Then there was washing clothes with hands and so many other everyday things. Doing them with your own two hands might be still happening in some remote parts of the world, but over all things have changed and will continue to change.
The innovations around us should not blind us. We need to take some time for introspection to determine how much is too much. Do we need to depend so much on technology that we forget to remember basic things in life? We need to ask ourselves this question today.
- The reader is a homemaker based in Dubai.
