Two decades before, I wrote
an article on “Tamagotchi” – the Japanese toy which swarmed the classrooms of
Japan with an intent to teach children ‘the culture of nursing the young’ and
‘to train them on love for the babies”. The little toy in the form of a chick
or a baby with different manifestations carried by the young ones to the
classroom used to ‘beep’ now and then to express its wants – the hunger, the
sleep, its intent for play; and the children used to respond with a “feed”
program input to take note of the same and to “assuage its pains from its
suffering.” These “beeps” became a continuous source of nuisance in classrooms
with teachers expressing annoyance on the loss of concentration and attention.
The absence of attention to
the toy caused its death and a separate ‘graveyard’ was designed in the
‘website’ to ‘bury’ these virtual lives. The keepers of these toys suffered a
depression due to the loss of their ‘beloved ones’ and there were several
studies which were conducted to find the impact of the ‘emotional trauma’ the
children suffered, thanks to the discovery!
Two decades have witnessed
several virtual plays offering a wide scope for the children to ‘edutain’ them.
It is not worth an analysis as we have lived through them with their positive
and negative gifts. However, there is evidence to show an increasing impact on
the changing ‘emotional patterns’ among the growing children. The frequent uses
of terminologies like “attack, shoot, Kill, bomb, destroy... “and the like has made
them to transfer the experience of these words even to routine interactive
behaviour in classrooms and in other relationships. It can well be said, that
in many cases, even the children did not know why they are using such words as
they had become a second habit, and what impact it would have on others.
Nevertheless, there was an intense aggression associated with the expression of
these words and feelings.
While everyone, be it
parents or school teachers or the psychologists acknowledged the impact of
these, nothing could stop the ever-increasing use of these toys and
instruments, as a part of the onward march of technology and its deep
penetration into our social structures. Their financial value was much
celebrated than its social or ethical value.
The emergence of “Blue
whales” has added a new dimension to this journey. We have moved from an
“interactive” and “personalized” control of the young mind by technology, to an
‘external’ ‘aggressive’ and ‘imposing’ control of technology over human minds. ‘Directing
thoughts’ ‘articulating behaviours’ ‘inducing aggression’ ‘tempting
self-destruction’ appear to be some facets of this destructive art, science and
play. “Triggering depression” “Motivating errant behaviour” “demolishing
self-esteem”, these games are mentored for a negative social attitude.
Evidences have already surfaced.
Markets, both technological
and commercial, might offer a number of explanations to assuage the fear of the
outcome of these ‘controlled games’, but it is important to consider this as a
‘virus’ in social dynamics.
Families, parents and social
activists do have a significant role to play.
“Educating” the consumers is
critical to ensure the spread. There is nothing called a limited use. The seeds
are infected.
I am a strong advocate of
technology, but our negotiations with technology should be built on strong
foundations, which do not cause on ‘emotional hijack’ of the young minds, which
could later become an instrument of social disorder.
It is time to send “The Blue
whales” back to the sea!
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