#Impact of Smartphones on Socialisation

 

#Impact of Smartphones on Socialisation

Senior Citizens today have memories of standing in queues to book train tickets, pay various utility bills, purchasing movie tickets, and for many other purposes. Those were the things of the past. Now, one can book train, airline, and even bus tickets through various apps on a smartphone. One can use a smartphone to pay multiple utility bills and for many other purposes. Today, one rarely visits a bank to withdraw or deposit money, since most transactions are conducted online.  One does not need to visit shops or departmental stores to purchase daily needs, as there are apps that allow online orders with home delivery.  

2. Uses of Smartphones: Before the invention of smartphones, a simple mobile phone was used for calling other people. Thereafter, some features were added, i.e., Short Message Service (SMS) and some games. But after the invention of smartphones, many apps were developed that enabled us to use this gadget not only for calling others but also for making payments and booking online tickets for trains, buses, and airlines. There are apps for booking hotels, stock trading, paying utility bills, booking gas cylinders, etc. Smartphones are used as cameras to take photographs and videos. Smartphones have multipurpose uses, giving people much comfort when availing services from home with a click of a button, without spending much time. Thus, smartphones save people energy and valuable time.

3. How smartphones affected our social life:  Though smartphones save our energy and valuable time, they have impacted our family and social life. It has obviated the need to go outside to obtain certain services, such as buying vegetables, groceries, and other daily necessities. Online and mobile banking reduced footfall at the bank’s premises. Similarly, online booking of train tickets through mobile apps reduced footfall at reservation counters, resulting in fewer ticket counters. This has reduced human interaction, resulting in fewer acquaintances. No doubt, various mobile apps have helped busy working people optimise their valuable time.  On the other hand, retired senior citizens are struggling to pass the time. They are also struggling to socialise themselves. Moving out to purchase daily needs or to avail banking and other services helped them interact with others, thereby widening their circle of known people.  Using mobile apps to access various services from home reduced one’s circle of known people. We all know the days before smartphones, when one used to visit friends' houses for socialisation. Landlines and simple mobile phones reduced the need to see friends’ houses, as one used to talk to friends over the telephone. But the invention of smartphones has even reduced the need to call friends. Instead, they started sending and receiving messages through WhatsApp. I don’t know when I last called my best friend because we use WhatsApp messages, and that's limited to sending Good Morning and Good Night messages. I am not surprised to see people engaged with their smartphones even in a social gathering. Even in a family get-together, all the family members, instead of talking with each other, are busy on their smartphones.

4. Smartphones enabled us to connect with people on various social media platforms. One may have thousands of friends on a social media platform, but have interactions with only a few that can be counted on the fingers of one hand.  Smartphones, though, have negatively impacted our family and social life, but with clever use, one can use them as a tool to increase social and friend circle. Make it a point to call at least five people from your friend list on a social media platform every day. Have a get-together with at least five people every weekend. In this way, one can expand their circle of friends and spend quality time with both old and new friends by using social media platforms.

5. Conclusion: Though the use of smartphones adversely affected our family and social life, with clever use, one can use a smartphone as a tool for increasing one's social circle.

 

#Annual Picnic

 

#Annual Picnic

My earlier post mentioned the various tours a senior citizen can enjoy making post-retirement life joyful and exciting. During the previous year, the last month of 2024, I had a tour of the Sundarbans with my wife and two sons. On 5th January, the new year, our housing society organized a picnic at Saheb Bagan, Village—Sibalaya, Duttapukur, 30 kilometers from our residence. It’s also a short group tour with our known people in the locality organized by our Housing Society. The contribution was Rs.400.00 per person. A large bus was arranged to take us to the picnic spot. An individual had the option to go by their vehicle. 

The bus was scheduled to depart at 8 a.m. on January 05, 2025. About 70 people participated in the picnic, of whom around 50 went to the picnic spot by bus and the remaining by their vehicle. The bus started at 9 a.m. and reached the picnic spot at 10.15 a.m.  The picnic spot, Saheb Bagan is very spacious having many big trees, a kitchen, space for vehicle parking, and open spaces for playing and gathering. Big walls enclose the picnic spot. There was only one entrance.  Eleven cars entered the picnic spot. The Bus was parked outside the picnic spot.

After entering Saheb Bagan, breakfast was served. After finishing breakfast, we gathered and sat together. There was a good seating arrangement with sufficient chairs and tables. There was a badminton court where children were playing badminton. My son also played badminton there. I also played badminton with the children. A few children and adults were playing football and cricket. I also played cricket with them. I enjoyed playing cricket. For more than two decades I could not play cricket. Therefore, I was excited to play cricket. In between lunch and breakfast, snacks were served. They served chicken pakora with tea/coffee as snacks. For vegetarians, they served veg pakora.

Before lunch, we enjoyed a few interesting fun games. Prizes were kept for the winners of various fun games. We enjoyed the fun games. After fun games we had lunch. In addition to vegetarian items, fish and mutton were served as non-vegetarian items. After lunch we played ‘Housie’. We enjoyed our participation in the Housie Game. In between, oranges were served to all. After having evening tea/coffee we packed up to return home by the same bus. 

The picnic spot was very spacious and had a variety of trees, particularly mango and betel nuts. In addition, vegetables were grown inside the property. They cultivated cauliflower, cabbage, potatoes, and onion. Betel nut trees were in a row on both sides of the pathway, which enhanced the scenic beauty of the picnic spot. Mango trees were located in such a manner that they provided sufficient shade without affecting sunlight and open spaces.

 We enjoyed the natural beauty and sunlight throughout the day. Every individual was free to roam around inside the picnic spot. People of almost all age groups participated in the picnic. I enjoyed interactions with many people both known and unknown. We had two singers amongst us. We enjoyed their live songs. It was a nice gathering away from our home in a natural environment. Every year we wait for this picnic. We are all waiting for the next picnic in 2026.

 #picnic