Life today is a lot, lot different than what it used to be around a decade or before that. Kids didn't have screens that they could carry around with them, people didn't text and family pastimes included playing board games with loads of fun.
Smartphones and the internet have changed everything, and even our Prime Minister has gotten caught in this tech-trap.
Reuters
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday was in a conversation with a bunch of students during the 59th edition of Mann Ki Baat -- a radio talk show where the Prime Minister talks to the country about his experiences and tries to inspire the nation.?
On this specific Mann Ki Baat broadcast, a student that goes by the name of Akhil, based out of Rohtak in Haryana asked the Prime Minister if he ever manages to make time to watch movies or read books amidst his busy schedule.
To this, PM Modi responded "I was always fond of reading books but have never had any interest in watching films, nor do I watch TV regularly, however, earlier, sometimes I used to watch Discovery Channel.
"I also read books but these days I cannot read much and also Google has spoilt us as we can instantly refer to it anytime," PM Modi added with a bit of humour.
Well, it's true that Google, or (the internet really) has made our lives a lot simpler with information on our fingertips with just a few taps -- whether it's finding a meaning to a word or a definition to a complicated scientific theory -- Google search has it all.?
Reuters
However, it is our phones that cause the most distraction, even when we're trying to read. Whether it's a message of a loved one or just some annoying app trying to show an advertisement, one ping on our phone can break our concentration while reading or even during family time.?
Moreover, a recent study by academics from Oxford, King's College London, Harvard and Western Sydney University, discovered that our phones were also replacing our ability to remember facts while tricking us into thinking we are smarter than we actually are.