Monday, July 19, 2010

My Scatterbrained Generation...but, who am I to say!!

I read an article this weekend about the "breaking news" culture in news production and dissemination. About how issues debated fiercely a year ago have no recall value today. Well, is it an issue with the news production company or does this mirror the tastes of the audience? Are we increasingly becoming a scatterbrained generation that is easily distracted?

When was the last time you did something for the first time? This resonates with our generation that loves innovation and newness.....but hey, not everything is accomplished by doing something for the first time...Isn't excellence achieved by doing the same old thing for the hundredth time? But who am I to say.....I am writing this blog because i wanted to do something new?

How many times have we provided feedback to our co-workers or friends that they are not good at multitasking? How can a generation that encourages multitasking as a core competence get back in return concentration and attention? Well, concentrating on that one important thing could get us somewhere instead of doing the hundred that gets you nowhere. But who am i to say..... I should be spending time with my daughters instead of typing this out on my rickety keyboard?

Talking about daughters reminds me.....my daughters want a new Barbie and I wonder what happened to the last toy we bought? It lies forgotten and neglected in the bottom draw. Do we focus more on acquiring new? Do we live in a world that has forgotten the old? Thanks to Apple and Microsoft and everything high tech, man is keen on pushing the boundaries, but is this also leading to a generation that is irritated with the old, that does not remember the old, that does not value the old? But who am I to say....when was the last time I called up my old friends and talked to them?

All the world philosophies talk about the the stillness of the mind, about being in the present, about deep listening. When I look around , I see the opposites. I see a father talking to his daughter...but is also fiddling his blackberry. I see a mother feeding her baby....but is also watching the television. I see everyone doing multiple things. I see every other person feeling neglected. I see emotional breakdown. I see a generation that is fragile. I see a generation that is distracted. I see a generation that fails to concentrate on the one thing that can make it happy.

Breaking news: We are conditioned to be distracted. You will forget you even read this in 10 minutes. You will be on to the next breaking news....move on....my musings are no breaking news in any case.

1 comment:

  1. Well said Rakesh !

    News channels are money spinners and are worried about TRP. So, they show all sorts of nonsense that adds no value to the society just to catch eyeballs (attention).

    We talked a lot about Kasab for sometime. Kasab is not more news now.

    SivaG

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