Bachpan se Badapan

What interests the tweenagers (excuse the social media parlance) today? Not an easy one to answer for sure.  With mobiles as their raconteur coupled with selective listening skills it’s no longer easy to connect with them.  The only way to reach out to these young minds is to include phrases such as “Whatsapp?” “K” “FML”, “ROFL” in your vocabulary.  Talking to my 14-year-old niece the other day had me fumbling for words, as she excitedly discussed the lives of her icons Ronaldo, Messi, Serena and Maria Sharapova, found it so hard to relate to any of it.  This is such a far cry from the world of 80s’ when we used to sit with the entire family to watch B.R Chopra’s Ramayan, cry at Sita’s plight and guffaw at sitcoms such as “Yeh jo hain zindagi”. 

VCR tapes would be borrowed on meagre rentals and all and sundry would gather at a neighbourhood home to watch scary Ramsay movies, or play cricket in the backyard only to be chased away by the irate society secretary.  Breaking a piggy bank to buy audio cassettes was such a euphoric achievement.  An India Vs Pakistan match would call for intense action as sides would be drawn up and bets laid.  Kismi bars were every child and grownups delight, breaking into Antakshari at any given opportunity was perfectly normal, birthday parties at home were a royal treat with mommy’s special recipes to whet appetites.  As children we just needed reasons to be outdoors and had to be dragged home, albeit in an embarrassing way at times.  Tinkle, Amar chitra katha, and the like were our vacation companions and going to Lonavala was a matter of immense pride.  When friends would plan their holidays to visit their Nani’s home we would count days to their return.  Our treasure booty consisted of rare stamps and old coins defending them like a hawk from annoying siblings.    Getting a spin in the confines of a Maruti 800 was akin to a Mercedes ride back then.  Sheer nostalgia, Sigh!

Cut to the scenario today, where more is less, if children possess cell phones, the make and quality is a critical matter.  Tablets are not prescribed any longer but are smartly marketed as a must-have lest you stay far behind from the know it all brigade. Phablets (surely a Doc devised that one), smart gadgets, cloud computing rule the mindspace of a tweenager.  It is a preposterous crime to not hold a FB account.  Parks and outdoor spaces will soon enlist as historic monuments, as they are only visited by the elderly of the city.  Death of innocence is how I would like to term these phenomena.  I wonder if today, offspring come with pre-programmed minds thanks to our love for technology maybe their learning starts when they are a tiny cell in the womb.  They are averse to learning précis these days but are quick to adapt to the 140 character norm and for Pete's sake everything should be centred around “i” (with due respect to Jobs greatest misinvention).  With the past becoming history and future bright with technology wonders we just have to learn to LOL at situations, not OMG at turn of events and FML when you find it hard to cope but remember...there is always Hope ;) (just for the sake of rhyming).