“Aajkal ke bachche toh Maa ke pet se mobile seekh ke aate hai”.
A very common dialog between the ladies who are critical of the intelligent children. They cannot accept the fact that this generation is super intelligent and even in infancy, they catch up the things fast.
But this write-up is not about how children are adopting the evolving technology. This is about how the parents are embracing it. And yes, we are not talking about the newbie parents who have just entered the category, we are talking about their parents. The people in their 40s and 50s. The time was not far away when this category of people was considered technologically backward. This is no more the time when they used to rush to their children because the cell phone died of battery or for setting up the alarms.
The earth rotates and revolves; and seems like, for a few years, it has been bringing a lot of change in the acceptability of the group we call ‘parents’. They are less scared of the new things and showing interests in learning them. Yes, teaching them is a whole lot of a work but eventually, the student excels the master.
Let us tell you some common ‘upside down’ things I see in my family
#1. Don’t touch my phone
Remember the times when we used to get furious when our parents touched our phones? Is it the same now? I think now our parents have more complex screen lock pattern than us. I wonder what secrets these mobile phones are carrying?? Our parents get more notifications than us on the mobile phones even at the midnight. How?? Why??
#2. Whatsapp kar dena mere number pe
Aren’t your Mum Papa tha ‘Shaan’ of the family group on Whatsapp? Don’t they send dope messages that get a huge response? They indeed do. We all have such parents and it’s strange seeing them at the place we used to be.The phone calls have been replaced by the WhatsApp messages. Remember when was the last time you got a call from your bua, maasi, or mama wishing u a happy birthday? This generation has replaced talking with texting (yeah! It takes a lot of efforts to understand what they are writing but…).
#3. Checking msz while eating
Khana khane me dhyan do. Haha! I often find myself saying this to my Mom nowadays. She does not let her mobile out of sight for long. It follows her while cooking, while serving and during eating. It almost seems like the metabolism improves by checking out the phone while taking the meal.
#4. Taking pictures for FB
It’s an important day of my life. I am all nervous, I am all chill. And then the father would come and say “Cheese, this picture is gonna go on my FB”. Whaaat!! I am invisible to you right now, papa? Sometimes, considering your parents as friends is not all you thought it would be.
#5. Search everything on Google
Google is the ‘know it all’ place for the parents. They really do not know how Google works, but they know when they type the query on it, it answers; probably more than their children answer them. Whether it is a simple recipe or home remedies, Googling has become a part of their lives.
#6. Jhunjhuna is replaced by YouTube videos
Aren’t you nodding in a Yes? Parents do not hand the toys to their child when he cries, they just play funny cat videos on YouTube. It does wonders but Guys, so did the Jhunjhuna!! We all grew up playing with them, what changed? And when these parents are getting their children addicted to mobile since infancy, they blame the children for overusing the cell phone.
#7. Creating the records in the game
The undefeated champions of any top games are not the young kids. How can they when the former generation is hell bound to create a history in their favorite game. Candy crush and Talking Tom used to be the only games our parents played but now they are ruling even the toughest games at the Play Store.
Sometimes, I feel like Freaky Friday; the role reversal movie? Mom becomes daughter and daughter become mom. It’s super frightening. Sometimes, it feels great that your parents are not backward and acceptable to the things that you like. But sometimes, it feels like when parents will not be ‘parents’ then who will?
Readers Nukkad 