Nostalgia and Reflection

Today, I would like to discuss how our society is experiencing an emerging change regarding people being less social due to continuing technological advancement and some factors.

Background

It's been a while since I posted anything, so excuse me for being a little rusty. I may not have done a great job in naming today's topic for the content, but if you stay with me here, you can relate to me. I am a 25-year-old immigrant who came to the US on a student visa to live with my family. I have been here for more than six years, completed my education, and am looking for a career in IT Audit. I wanted to give you a little background about myself before jumping into the topic, so you have some context.

Context

I belong to a great nation, a country filled with the most welcoming and warm-hearted people who not only care about their communities, friends, and relatives but also care about their country—or at least that's how it was when I left…

Intro/Start 

I left my country in 2012 and lived in UAE, commonly known as Dubai, for over five years, where I completed high school and then moved to the USA with my brother for higher education and a better future. Today, after twelve years of visiting back, I look back to my friends, relatives, country, and people; a lot has changed. Things have changed far more than one could imagine. Sadly, it is not a good change; instead, it is fierce. People's behaviors, actions, intentions, thoughts, and feelings for each other have changed to become worse and worse. Kindness, politeness, humbleness, sincerity, loyalty, and pure heartedness are all qualities that have become almost nonexistent, whereas selfishness, ego, dishonesty, and greediness have become more popular. 

As a kid

I remember, as a kid, people used to help each other simply because the other person needed help and they didn't have enough resources to help themselves; they wouldn't calculate their benefit before offering to help someone and wouldn't simply do it because they would get something in return.

Something else I noticed is how people interact differently now; as a kid, I remember when we used to go to family gatherings or relatives' houses, everyone would be lively; they would share about their life, work, kids, family, etc. and mostly they wouldn't have any negative things in heart for each other. Compared to now, in gatherings, it feels like everyone is there by force; people rarely like to share stuff about their lives, crack a joke, have a lively conversation, or allow their kids to stay over.

Back then kids didn't have access to cell phones, tablets, and laptops. To entertain themselves, they would go outside and play street games with their friends; it was just beautiful. If you think about it, it's just wild that I enjoyed that great time as a kid, and still, that seems very beautiful after we have grown up. Imagine how great it would feel if we got to see those times come back as elders and watch our kids enjoy the same life as we did.

Why/How

Social media, content creation, and video gaming companies are a few of the things to blame for this drastic societal change. Human genetics and psychology also significantly influence how both have evolved over the past few decades. Substantial technological advancement has also impacted how we spend our lives.

Another significant factor could be the economic condition of the country and safety issues, for example, if the employment rate and inflation rate are high. People can't afford better lives, affecting their moods, emotions, feelings, and how they interact with each other. Similarly, if one's safety is in danger, they would be in constant fear of being robbed or, worse, being kidnapped when they are outside and would hesitate to send their kids out to play.

The Difference in Perception

Another factor that significantly contributed to how and why I feel in the way that I think is, as a kid, you perceive things differently; you are not mature. Your brain needs to be developed enough to understand grown-up problems and read people's faces, body language, etc. You think everyone is happy, you feel good about everyone, and everything seems beautiful because we do not have the capability nor a requirement to understand, face, and fight real-world problems. We live in our imaginary world where the worst that could happen to us is getting punished by the teacher for not completing our homework on time or getting grounded by our parents.

With time, technological and genetic advancements are moving us into a world where laughter, joy, nature, memories, quality time, creativity, and livelihood are becoming extinct. I feel like time is passing faster and faster day by day, and things are changing exponentially with time. Each decade, we see a more significant change in how we live our lives, more prominent than ever.

Your thoughts?

I am very interested in knowing if you guys feel the same way. If you share my experience in your home country and feel the same way about your people, family, friends, relatives, and colleagues, do you also feel like technology has caused us to become distant from each other and we don't get connected in a true sense as we used?

What can we do?

Also, what other factors might have caused this change? What are your theories? and if we can improve things?

Summary/Conclusion

I understand change is a common phenomenon, and nothing remains the same, whether cultural norms, traditions, beliefs, human behavior, how people spend their time or emotions. Everything changes with time, but I feel like something has drastically changed people over the last decade or two.

Please comment below and share your thoughts. Until next time... 

Thank you! 😊