Even a few years back, growing up in India (both urban and rural India) was quite different from what it is today. And if you go back to your childhood, the difference is so huge that if someone were to visit the past, they simply wouldn’t recognize much of anything!
While it’s not so simple to decide if the present setup is better than the other, it is certainly a lot more taxing for parents and children themselves to find a foothold in reality. As social media and audio-visual content take center stage, many real relations are taking a back seat. As such, one of the most critical questions for any 21st-century parents is where to make the mark – Real relationships or the reel world? Thus, our team of expert educationists at The Star Global School, one of the best schools in Rohtak, thought, why not throw some light on this trending topic! Read on to find out if there’s a clear winner (real vs. reel). Happy reading!
The Line Between Reel and Real is Gradually Blurring
Play pretending is an age-old tradition where kids participate in and spend hours exploring a fantasy world. If you ask experts, it is a very powerful tool that helps in the holistic development of children. In fact, top educationists believe that using imagination is the key to better learning outcomes. And we, at The Star Global School, couldn’t agree more!
The reel world that has become a pressing concern for parents today is ideally a world of playing pretend. Instead of playing with dollhouses or operation sets, children today spend time on online games and avatars. Essentially, the platform has changed, but the core is still the same. So, why is it such a big deal?
The answer is pretty simple. In the past, there was a clear line separating playtime and the rest of the day. Even the most playful kid had to finish the game before it was dinnertime. But, with mobiles and the internet, playtime is never really over.
To add to the woes, social media channels and decreased parental discretion in the early years make it difficult for the kids (who are still building their sense of reality) to differentiate between what’s real and what’s reel! When they see their elders and peers engaging in the same activities (make an IG reel, post a flurry of pics on Facebook, etc.), it only encourages them to invest more time in the virtual world than in real-life experiences.
Too Much Reel Time Comes with its Share of Childhood Troubles
Imagination is an essential life skill that you must foster in your kids. However, spending so much time in your imagination that you lose your foothold, in reality, is a dangerous thing. Some of the negatives include:
- Losing precious family time: As phones have largely replaced the actual moments that could be spent with family, there’s hardly any time left for precious human experiences.
- Reduced parental discretion: Children these days have unrestricted access to all sorts of information, most of which is not even age-appropriate.
- Unreal expectations cloud judgment: What children see online is never the accurate picture. For instance, no family eats out every day. But since it shows on their favorite show, kids set unrealistic expectations from life, which ends up troubling them.
In essence, it is all about striking a balance. While technology and easy access to global information has made our lives much more convenient, it is not entirely without prejudices. And the biggest impact is on our children. This is why we, at The Star Global School, positioned among the best schools in Rohtak, firmly believe that it’s important to show our children the difference between real and reel life early on so that they can enjoy the perks of the online world while still holding their ground in the real world!