Technology is deeply rooted into human life like never before. In every corner of human life, technology is interfering. There is hardly any space people have of their own, we can say. More than technology in general, tech related to mobile devices and screen-based options has created more damage to humankind than anything else.
Talking about technology, it has been with us for many hundreds of years. It has travelled with us from the primitive era. Earlier, it didn’t have any direct control over us humans, but today that is not the case, it directly affects us. In fact, we have no escape.
If you have gone through human evolution history, we faced a lot of threats from many things: animals, water, forest fires, the sea, wind, and more. We overcame almost everything and learned to live parallel to them, not under their supremacy. With technology, it is not the same—we are under it.
Interestingly, most people still have no idea about the extent of technology’s involvement in their lives. We blame people for being unproductive, lazy, non-creative, and non-progressive, but unknowingly, the device in their hand is pulling them back. It’s not the individual’s problem.
People with depression lean onto mobiles for relief, but it’s like an aggravating drug.
Mobile phones were once identified as a part of humans. Now, it’s the human who gets identified in the name of the mobile. We are owning our own masters in our hands.
The majority of people—I would say 99%—who are chained slaves of mobiles don’t even know they are! I have heard people saying, “It’s not that I don’t want to leave the device, but if I do, I will feel very alone in this socially bound and connected world.” Let me tell you, friend, this is a farce, or at least a misunderstanding.
If you quit the smartphone and become a little conventional, you may be alone and out of the digital world, I agree. But look at it from outside: those who are inside the digital world with a mobile-addicted life are also alone, just in another way. You are alone in the real world; they are alone in the virtual world. I bet your loneliness is better and is a great opportunity to be in bliss.
A friend of mine once told me about one of his close friends. She has 20k followers on her Instagram account and actively posts pictures and content on social media. She is on the phone 24/7. But she seems to be depressed and mostly alone lately. Upon asking, she broke down and shared the deep loneliness she suffers.
She is always praised for her appearance, outfits, videos, and skills in the virtual world and seems like a happy person on screen. Off-screen, she is pathetically craving for a good friend. I suggested to tell her to stay away from social media for a while; organically, she would return to normalcy.
Have you thought about the reason behind their loneliness? Let me tell you. You are a human, and you crave emotional comfort as much as, or maybe even more than, you crave food. And the virtual world is not fulfilling that need. That’s the reason.
This mental trauma that everyone is experiencing deepens when you scroll a lot. Everyone is, in some way, going through the same cycle. It’s nature’s rule that we must pass through it. We blame tangible things, relationships and emotions, as the cause, and it could be partly true. No trauma comes without its own healing power and solution.
But if you are a person severely addicted to technologies and living in a virtual world, you are not allowing yourself to heal. The mind gets more tangled, and scrolling in the blue light will never calm your biological system, nor your brain.
Being social animals, we need emotional bonding with other people. We seek attention in different ways. We lean towards something that keeps us engaged or validates our emotions, and social media does that to a great extent.
The same goes for creativity and productivity. Anything that is unused for a longer period will get rusty and so does our brain. For anything and everything, we rely on mobiles, and there is no way to practice thinking, calculating, and deducing on our own.
A clear example I can cite is about one of my personal staff members. She has been working with me for the last 8 years. She was a girl with a creative mindset, good literary abilities, logical reasoning, and problem-solving skills. She used to multitask across various fields.
Back then, she was not using any social media other than WhatsApp and was deeply involved in her work and life. Now, I can clearly see a shocking transition a major drop in productivity. I used to blame her a lot, but gradually I understood the fact I mentioned earlier: it’s not the individual’s problem. It is a plugged-in problem from spending too much time on mobile and social media.
If you are not healed properly, all the creative human instincts naturally get reduced, and eventually, your output falls.
This dependence on technology is becoming common among children and teenagers. Unlike older generations who remember playing outside for hours, solving problems without Google, and waiting for handwritten letters, today’s youth expect instant gratification. They communicate through emojis rather than words and prefer virtual friendships over real-life interactions.
The older generation often finds it difficult to understand this obsession with technology. Many parents and grandparents try to limit screen time, encourage outdoor play, and emphasize human connections. But they soon realize their words hold little power. The moment they confiscate a device, their children retreat into silence or rebellion.
I recall a conversation with my 75-year-old neighbor. He shared his concerns about his grandson, who could not sit through a family meal without checking his phone. “When I was his age,” he said, “we wrote letters to express our feelings. Now, they send texts that disappear in seconds.” He shook his head, feeling helpless.
The vulnerable generation are the children and youth of any nation, and some schools are adopting a hybrid learning model—integrating technology while promoting creativity and teamwork. Instead of banning AI tools, they are teaching students how to use them responsibly. This way, children can benefit from technology without losing their ability to think independently.
Perhaps the future will not be about choosing between AI and human intelligence but about creating a world where both coexist harmoniously. A world where technology enhances our lives without replacing what makes us uniquely human.
