Some events and incidents that happen around us, as reported, these days could not be more bizarre. A student of Jagannath University pens down the state of his (gloomy) mood in the answer sheet of an examination. An elderly man of Dhaka city shoots himself dead live on a video clip. Crafty elements use garland of shoes to publicly insult a teacher in Narail. A young man takes off nuts and bolts from the Padma Bridge’s railing, claiming it is so easy to do this when it should not be so.
Only one global platform breaks all these news items and the newsmakers themselves share their stories with the public. The traditional media outlets play the secondary role in these cases. A select group of audience goes back there to read the follow-up reports and meet some curiosity but most others remain glued to the new media. Perhaps the expressive nature of the digitally addicted masses doesn’t allow them to live in tranquillity.
Unhappiness and joys, anger and support, protests and sycophantic words, and even private affairs and whimsical acts are expressed through the social media without slightest hesitations at the cost of decency.
People may still have hunger for knowing the unknown and the yet-to-be-found known or maybe they miss the objects that can pacify their restless minds. These netizens look for remedy from hassles of living by means of information and communications technology.
Digital solutions to essential services such as land registration, public healthcare, schooling and regulatory supports have not been fully readied yet. Knowledge resources, especially libraries and database, have not been digitised to the proportion of emerging economies.
So, there is disconnect between the trends and treasures. Old school boys and girls may want to stick to the analogue system while digital enthusiasts prefer shortcuts to make life more comfortable by replacing the old system.
In such a context, people of wisdom have reasons to be concerned about whether their legacy shall be carried forward by their posterity.
Antagonists of change can’t accept one particular fact that they won’t be able to return to the age that makes them nostalgic. Loss of peace to ubiquitous activities of the virtual world is affecting not them alone, but the madness of using the machine at hand round the clock is turning the individual into a hostage to the habits and dominance of the platforms s/he uses.
Paradoxically, the busy users of the social media hardly appreciate how internet really offers unprecedented scope for learning and receiving services, sitting at home and within moments. The energy and time they can save should have been utilised in more constructive purposes.
Despite the vast array of resources available on the web, the contents generated and consumed by most of the contemporary professionals and amateurs appear to be disturbingly repetitive and lifeless.
Also reading books is no longer a passion for the new generation, a generation which wants digital version of every source of knowledge for convenience, according to traditionalists. The joy of reading has become out of fashion.
We, in Bangladesh, have embarked on the journey of digitisation but neglected digital literacy which is generally defined in a parochial manner. How it’s possible without education proper and due diligence is a question thoroughly ignored.
When libraries, hard copies of archives, research findings, and official documents will be digitised almost entirely, will that be the end of learning age? It’s feared to be the era of robots that can, however, only replicate human knowledge and innovation.
Few believe that widespread digital resources can produce highly knowledgeable individuals and society and explore opportunities for higher level of creativity.
To do so, each individual needs to settle her/his mind and peacefully search for knowledge instead of unnecessarily being tired of everything. Exhausted leaders can’t build any sound family and society, so nursing human values and instilling confidence into each societal unit about the future are critically important in a new world.
