Time for a virtual detox?
Stop being glued to your phone and enjoy the real world, advises Look Up, a 5minute video about our addiction to social media that’s a viral sensation
“We are a generation of idiots, smart phones and dumb people” and are “slaves to technology”. This is exactly the message that the recent five- minute viral video
Look Up sends out to the viewers. The video created by filmmaker Gary Turk shows him reciting a poem, which tells people to “look up from your phone, shut down the display and take in your surroundings. Make the most of today.”
A video that slates social media has become a massive hit on YouTube, with more than 38 million views. While some are lauding the video for its inspirational message, others say it’s just sentimental rubbish and over- exaggeration.
“While many people will never acknowledge, but a few of the younger generation including me are beginning to realise that there is such a thing as ‘ addiction to social networking’ or mindless browsing through the Internet. Most of us do it in the name of keeping ourselves updated about what is happening around us, but this has come to a point where a majority of us need to go in for ‘ Internet detoxification’. The video can be a great push to anybody who has heard his/ her partner/ parents/ friends grumble that they cannot take their eyes off their gadgets,” says Aman Gupta, a marketing professional.
Internet addiction in youngsters is a reality, and ironically enough, social networking is actually driving them into becoming socially more isolated. “Virtual social networking is hazardous to the psychological well- being of children and adolescents as they are growing into more impatient and impulsive adults and even lack the basic real world social skills and the needed amount of emphatic behaviour. Additionally, children who are addicted to networking are clearly more depressed, anxious and stressed. Biologically, using social media is hypothesised to stimulate the ‘ reward centre’ in the brain in a manner similar to substances of abuse like alcohol, cannabis and cocaine, hence the strong potential for addiction,” says psychiatrist Girish Banwari.
While some agree with the message of the video, there are others who differ. A city youngster and an M. Phil student at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Archit Singh is not on the same grounds with Gary’s video. He quips, “The video claims that it has become abnormal to talk to strangers on commuter trains because people are far too involved with their personal technologies. Well, anyway while using public transportation, even those who aren’t looking down at their phones are not inclined to talk to strangers. I hardly remember any of my friends or myself ‘ looking up’, making eye contact with strangers and befriending them.”
While every technology innovation has been met with some trepidation about how it will affect our social well- being, several youngsters seem to be agreeing to the fact that excessive browsing is certainly making GenY narcissistic, detached and cut off from the rest of the world.
Travel blogger Vishakha Talreja adds, “I agree with the video’s message that the community, companionship and sense of inclusion provided by social media are mere ‘ illusions’. I think it is true that we miss out on a lot of precious moments and experiences. Recently, we went for a trip with family where I kept getting grumpy expressions from my folks and my partner for constantly editing and updating my pictures and posts. Most of the time, we end up sharing frivolous bits of ourselves on the social media without leaving out anything meaningful. Videos like Look Up are a wake up call for those of us who are constantly connected to the virtual world to take a conscious effort to turn off our display screens and take a romantic stroll in the park and breathe some fresh air.”