Trend or 'the end'?

Trend or ‘the end’?

‘Trends’ are something rightly and aptly associated with Gen Y. Something new is the market is followed, practiced or 'aped' and rule the roots; be it fashion, art, social networking practices etc. But when this turns into obsession, it can and has ruined lives. The desperation to get to the site to post a very exciting happening, or to try out something new when not eligible just because people are talking about it have become common practices among the youth. And the media has mocked it well with jokes of a boy running to his PC to update his status from 'single' to 'in a relationship' immediately after proposal, a woman clung to screen immediately after delivery to inform the world...lol! Where are we rushing and what for? This has certainly surpassed the purposes of mere entertainment, knowledge or building social circles and has given rise to 21^st century ugly heads like FOMO (Fear of missing out), SMAD (Social Media Anxiety Disorder), electronic aggression, peer pressure etc.

Got a new dress? Partying with friends, one for the DP, one for the family album or for ‘the ice bucket challenge’ and it goes click, click, click.. The ‘selfies’, ‘wefies’, ‘backfies’, (any more?) have engulfed the younger generation like never before! So much so is the obsession that it’s now proving fatal. It’s high time for parents to interrupt and pull the chords for it's better late than never. People are forgetting the 'real' world, lost in the enticing, ever hypnotizing virtual world around

. Sadly, it's a common sight to see a group of friends sitting together but glued to their screens, chatting with virtual friends! And if this continues, it won't be long when two people meet and one says, "Sorry I didn't recognize you?". The other replies with a look, "hey, you were chatting with me the other day on facebook!" Flabbergasted. "Really?" Thanks to Photoshop!...lol

On a more serious note, many shocking instances of taking selfies over perilous spots like over a train, near/ with fire etc. have been reported. The recent Nepal earthquake had people posing in front of dilapidated temples, probably to gain some likes on their facebook page, to make them ‘popular’! Another one had a student posting continuous updates after being shot even from the operation theatre! And yet another saddening incident was where a youth was filming his friend’s suicide! The story of a person capturing an accident, while he lay without help and that of an animal pulling another injured one to other side of the road for healing, do shake the human conscience. In today's 'instant' world, let us remind ourselves. What is important? Saving or reporting? 

Well Mark Zuckerberg, Kevin Systrom or Apple for that matter, wouldn't definitely have had such wild ideas when they built a platform to ‘share’. So next time when you try to overdo, ask yourself- “Who is the subject and who is the object?”