6, Suren Sarkar Road,
Beliaghata,
Kolkata – 700 010.
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January 22, 2011
The Editor,
The Times of India,
105/7A, SN Banerjee Road,
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Kolkata – 700 014.
Subject: Concern about the misuse of technology by the youth
Dear Sir,
This letter is neither the usual complaint nor complimentary kind that your office is flooded with. This is a letter from a school student who has been deeply influenced by the debate on the misuse of technology held in his school and is deeply concerned about the way technology is penetrating our lives and silently eating into our system. I would like you to publish my letter in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section with the simple intention that I would like more and more people to come forward and express their opinion on this serious but often ignored problem.
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The debate organised in my school by the Science Group, ‘Technology: Its effect on Modern Life’ was a grand success. The content of the debate was absolutely shocking and made me feel that it was time we should hold the mirrors of our conscience before our ‘technologically’ complacent selves. Technology drives the world today through computers and mobiles. If the student has the right values and intentions, it’s fine! But youth is generally all about the kind of curiosity that killed the cat.
We know what the murky world of violence can do to a child’s sensitive mind. If we have computer games where killing and abuses are glorified and our children have free access to the same, catastrophe beckons! The addiction to mobiles, and the SMS language destroying the traditional and formal dignity of the English language is another matter of serious concern. School students indulging in the wrong kind of conversation with the wrong kind of people is yet another matter of worry. It is indeed a nightmare for parents when they find their wards involved in the murky world of cyber crime.
There is no gainsaying the fact that spending long hours before the VDU can cause irreparable damage to one’s eyes and the backbone. Moreover, the link between brain tumours and long hours on the mobile has been fairly established now. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the misuse of technology.
Parents have to monitor their kids’ access to technology. Society needs to come ahead with the right ideas and spread awareness among the youth to ensure that they do not end up experiencing the dark side of modem science.
I do not intend to sound like some guru spreading pearls of wisdom among the ignorant. Most of the points mentioned above are well- known to people but the student community needs to be sensitised about it and the adults need to be proactive in the way they counter this grave scenario. I hope your prestigious magazine shall go ahead and highlight this issue independently.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Yours sincerely,
Suryadev Pathak