Ummey Khadiza Dipa

You are at a fancy restaurant; you paid a handsome amount of the bill for them to serve you appetizing food; foods are lying in front of you getting no attention; flies are buzzing over them; and your eyes and minds are stuck on a box. As stupid as it sounds, it is a common scene out there currently.

It’s those mere cellphones that are eating out our brain, sucking all the essence out of it in the form of our out-and-out attention as dessert. Such indifferent attitudes are observed in every aspect of our lives nowadays.

Growing youths waste plenty of their time socializing on online social platforms or creating a world of fantasies to which they never belong.

All this resulted in the world losing its temper and frustrations rising, causing depression in innocent minds. Despite having so many people around us, loneliness is something that never deserts us because our mind is always too scattered to enjoy the offline world.

Modern-day gadgets were invented for a purpose, but slowly they overtook the power of controlling humans, making them believe that they are helpless without an online presence.

I bet thousands of researchers have been working day and night out there to design gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops with newer modules and systems to be highly engaging and stimulating, which can lead to people becoming addicted to using them.

If we talk in chemical terms, targeting the pleasure and reward center of the brain, analysts and researchers have been trying to boost dopamine secretion, which is one of the major neurotransmitters. When we use electronic gadgets, dopamine is released in the brain, creating a pleasurable sensation and reinforcing the behavior.

Now lets look at it from another perspective. The cunning marketing strategies of technology giants to grasp the biggest asset of today’s century: attention. Exemplifying, our brain functions well and is more intrigued due to the sense of accomplishment whenever they are rewarded.

Tech companies, social sites, etc. target that. They provide rewards for specific actions, such as badges, points, or other incentives, which engage the consumers more towards the service. By creating a sense of urgency and scarcity in the market, sellers often make people frantic to adhere to that product and get inclined to purchase more.

And among all the other tactics that have been used, the incorporation of artificial intelligence into the day-to-day lives of people creates a personalized environment for them so that they get whatever they want with the least effort. This short-term reward system changes the topography of the brain, and people stay addicted.

The objective behind such a monologue speech of mine, however, wasn’t to discourage or disparage technology. It’s the greatest modern-day blessing. But people should stay aware of being used by them instead of being used by them.

And if it continues like this, sooner in the future the generation will collapse, being dependent on those innate, lifeless things and losing their ability and creativity. Here to soliciting in favor of supreme human beings, here to using the mirthful human brain, and here to a prospective future.

The writer is student of Department of Marketing JU