The old traditional way of life has vanished forever. Today, there are only some parts in the world left such as (villages, some small towns), that remind us of the real, lovable, and peaceful kind of life. Majority of the people today have chosen to abandon the traditional way of life, and are heading towards the modern norms.
Modernity has led to changes in social values, family values, sexual morality, and a whole host of more. It has completely transformed the lives of individuals to what it was during the traditional times. As time is passing by, more and more people are moving to big cities, ignoring relations, emotions, and are running after money. There is a lot of change in human habits, values, and norms.
People today are more of a practical than being emotional or sympathetic. The modern way of life has nothing in common with the traditional one. With modernization, there is also a change in the family economy, government, human relationships, religion, education, and health. To examine such changes, one must make a comparison between traditional and modern life.
The traditional life revolved around a fellow feeling. Everyone was a friend to each other and used to support each other in both financial and personal crisis. People believed in the joy of giving without expecting anything in return from anyone. The lifestyle of people revolved around acquiring and maintaining shelter, water, food, sanitation, in other words, for all the people, the priority was survival. Lives of men, women, and children were busy, and they even use to utilize their leisure time to the fullest.
Traditionally, in leisure times, women used to cook various varieties of food, do stitching, embroidery, and many other fun activities. Children used to play different outdoor-indoor games, including kancha, kabaddi, Gilli danda, antakshari, kho kho, hide and seek, and the list is big. Men, after work, used to go for a walk with their friends, sharing joys, sorrows, secrets, laughing out loud, etc.
Life was simple, and there did not exist any feelings like jealousy, hatred, negativity. People never used to interfere in each other's lives and were happy with their own. The traditional life was all about substance, sensitivity, and human touch. People were lovable, kind, had patience, and lived with peace! Oh Gosh! Gone are the days!! :( :(
In contrast to traditional life, with the evolution of modernization, the fellow feeling lost its existence. People today since their childhood learn: to not trust anyone. Also, people enjoy a lot of leisure time doing nothing, opening WhatsApp, Facebook all day, chit-chatting with friends, gossiping for hours, lying in bed scrolling down through the smartphones, installing new apps, playing online games, and the list is big.
Modern people use their leisure for activities that have little or no value. Modernization has put a diverse effect on the lives of both women and men. Washer dryers, cars, ovens, have cut down the time frame it took to cleaning, transportation, and cooking. Sometimes, it feels like these comforts have turned on life to be better. But, looking at the other side, things are convenient only when you use the opportunities and not misuse them.
For example, transportation has made it easier for you to travel any part of the globe in no time. But things are convenient only when you are not overusing transportation opportunities. The term overuse here means using transport even to travel to a distance merely 1-2 km from your home and avoiding walking. People must use the new advantages and not overuse them.
But the thing is, today most of the people are only overusing the new opportunities - excess use of vehicles, smartphones, and spending leisure time doing nothing.
The picture below symbolize what modern life looks like:
We all have come a long way to modernity, and are losing ourselves to a great extent because of it. Here you know the adverse effects of modernity on people:
1. Depression
According to a study, spending extended periods on social networking sites is related to depression in young adults. Depression is common among people who remain more active on social media as and when compared with those who spend less time on it.
However, it is not that social media does not offer advantages, and you must completely ignore it. No, it is good. But, you must make optimal, limited, and needed use of it. Spending all day and night over it, chit-chatting with friends, watching various series, uploading images, videos, only takes your peace away and continuously act as a hindrance in your way of life.
Learn where, how, when to use social media, avoid excessive use, and make the best use of it.
2. Isolation
Modern people are alone. The families are small. Every member of the family is addicted to smartphones. Men, women, children when they complete any work, return to their smartphones in no time. People today do not talk to each other much, and love to spend time on their smartphones. They may sit together, but are not together, with every individual busy over their particular phones. Modern people are alone!!
At last, I want to say that there is no harm in getting modern. But we must not forget our values, morals, and culture. We must stay grounded and be kind. We must not indulge in emotions of hatred, jealousy, negativity. We must help everyone around. We must know how to use modern technologies gracefully. We must not lose ourselves to modernity. We must know it all, and live it to the fullest!!