On Labour & Lifestyle!
#reflections
Dr. Alessandra from SOAS, London, and Dr, Kalpana, IIT Madras, were here in Campus today for a lively conversation with the officials and students from across various departments.
Dr. Alessandra gave some shocking statistics on distribution of wealth and labour.
More than 120 billion garments are made every year for all eight billion people of the world, she said. OMG!!!
Just this morning, a Physics professor was sharing yet another shocking quote on the concept of ‘screenagers’. He said that, the average alpha kids spend roughly 5 to 6 hours a day on their smartphone. If you stretch that daily average across a typical lifespan, it adds up to roughly 16 years spent staring at a mobile screen. In short 16 to 20 years of a person’s life is spent only on screentime, and roughly 6 – 7 years on social media platforms, he said.
I’m reminded of Thoreau’s Walden, where he talks about the vanity of buying new clothes by the dozen, week after week or month after month!
Specifically in the opening chapter titled, “Economy,” he has lots to say about our obsession with fashion!
Thoreau firmly believes that the true purpose of clothing is practical - to retain body heat and cover nakedness - not to serve as a status symbol. In this regard, he remarks that, “No man ever stood the lower in my estimation for having a patch in his clothes.”
Moreover, he also argues that a person shouldn’t get a new suit until they have grown or changed so much internally that keeping the old clothes would be like “keeping new wine in old bottles.”
This is where Thoreau is highly critical of the fashion industry!
He points out that kings, who wear a suit only once even though it was custom-made by a master tailor, will never know the actual comfort of a garment that truly fits. Because they constantly change clothes, he says that Kings are “no better than wooden horses to hang the clean clothes on.”
He also shares a humorous anecdote about asking his tailoress to make a very specific, practical garment. She gravely refuses, telling him, “They do not make them so now.” Thoreau mocks this, noting that she quotes the mysterious “They” (the fashion industry) as if it were an absolute, impersonal law of the universe like the Fates.
Thoreau then proceeds to note that if an accident happens to a gentleman’s legs, they can heal; but if an accident happens to the legs of his trousers, society views him as completely ruined. To Thoreau, this proves that society respects the coat, not the man inside it.
Ultimately, Thoreau is urging his readers to stop letting tailors and societal expectations dictate their worth, and to recognize that a ragged coat on a good person is vastly superior to a brand-new coat on a hollow one.
Coming next to the “screenagers” and an entire 16 years of their lifespan that they devote to their mobile phones –
Well, mobile screens are often a ‘default cure’ for boredom. One solution is to make the offline world just as engaging. Replace digital time with tangible activities like reading physical books, cooking, sports and games, or arts and crafts, helps lots!
Moreover, studies have shown that, excessive screen time is closely tied to nature deprivation and a lack of physical activity. In this regard, encouraging birding adventures and nature walks could help rebuild attention spans and thereby increase one’s focus and efficiency.
Finally, on a takeaway note – It would be nice and wise if - instead of simply taking away the devices from children, we can address the challenge of excessive screen and social media time and take constructive steps to manage their everyday usage!
No comments:
Post a Comment