80's generation and a gadget free life

Being born in the ’80s, our generation has seen a gradual shift in technology over the past three decades.

When we were young most households did not have a TV or even a Refrigerator, all these items were considered to be a luxury. Owning a two-wheeler too was considered to be a luxury. Chawl system was prominent in most parts of Mumbai and suburbs. Much later in the ’90s, the flat systems started to develop. Middle-class were the first to shift from a chawl system to a modern flat system with a one or a two-bedroom hall set-up. Slowly, things started to advance. TV sets and refrigerators were now considered to be a necessity. Soon we owned a landline phone.

The very fact that we could communicate over a landline phone was rather unbelievable. Many middle-class families had already registered for a landline phone. Calling charges were pretty high during this time and therefore, there were restrictions on the call duration. Parents would pay attention to the call duration, each time we picked up the phones and spoke to our friends. The missed call concept came into existence so as to save the calling charges. Missed calls were based on coding and were done with a purpose. It was only we, who understood the message.

We lived in the era where we were not privileged enough to eat outside food. Hoteling was uncommon and was allowed only while traveling or during commuting from one native place to another. No pocket money was being allotted to us. Shopping for clothes and other essentials was done once or twice a year.

The scope of entertainment was limited at that time, not many channels were available to watch.

However, we had a great bonding with our friends and hence we did not feel the need to be glued to the TV sets. There were some fixed shows, like The Ramayan, Mahabharat, Shree Krishan, Shaktimaan, etc which were showcased every Sunday. We would watch all those shows with great interest.

We had many friends in our society and always had a great time playing outdoors. The list of games was endless. We played for hours every single day. We used to wait for the summer vacations every year as that was the time when we did not have to go to our schools. We could enjoy being at home with our friends, we could eat scrumptious meals prepared by our mom, we could wake up late and get all geared for our outdoor or indoor-play sessions with our friends. Nights were dedicated to cards game and a fun night walk around our society with all our friends. I cannot express in words how exciting and amazing those days used to be. Once in a year, we would plan for a short trip to our native place, Mostly during Diwali or new year vacations. Traveling by Air was luxury; hence train travels were most common and pocket friendly too.

We never used mobile phones during our college time. Communication and long talks with our friends usually happened over the landline phones. It was quite fun to wait for these phone calls, especially, when there wasn’t a caller ID system. A mobile phone was a boon as we could carry the phone any-where we wanted. Hence owning a mobile phone was a big achievement. Most of us got mobile phones only after we started working and collected some money to buy our own phones.

Thereafter there was an advent of smartphones and people went crazy as they could then click photos send messages, enjoy social media, games, etc. As technology developed people got more and more engrossed in it. There was a major shift in technology in the early 2000s. WhatsApp and Facebook were the new social media giants that took over the SMS platform. Facebook connected the long-lost friends and WhatsApp provided with a new way to communicate and chat with friends, family, and colleagues. Chatting was addictive. Sending forwarded messages and jokes to one another had become a way of life. WhatsApp and Facebook were also used for advertising and promoting one’s business, which proved to be useful for the small scale and individual business owners. Businesses grew and every individual with a business idea got motivated to come up with new business ideas and plans. Social media Marketing gained pace and grew stronger with each passing day. This included YouTube as well. One could watch endless videos on this platform. Movies, fun videos, informative, videos, DIY’s, etc. Everyone could upload and share their creative videos on YouTube and therefore it gained popularity in no time. Other social media platforms that got popular with time were, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. Soon there was a boom in eCommerce sectors. Products were sold and bought online. Many newly launched eCommerce websites started with many discounts and offer on the products (fashion, beauty, healthcare, baby products) thereby luring the customers to buy more products online. There were now enough reasons for us to be in front of our mobile phones for a very long time. From chatting, clicking selfies, social networking, shopping, playing games, listening to music, video calling, video conferencing, to setting-up an alarm.

Finally, online streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, and many more gained momentum

Mobile phones offered varied range of activities for the people of all age groups. 

our lives now revolve around the complexities of these gadgets. those were the days when life was stress-free and gadget-free. 

we can make the most of the new age technology only when we are able to achieve a perfect balance in our lives. Indeed Technology is a boon for many and it has helped us develop and move ahead in our life, however, this technology is also making us more and more addicted and dragging us away from our very social existence. 

So I feel we should use Technology for our benefits without being addicted to its never-ending in-built attractions.