Selfie Menace: every technology has advantages and disadvantages

Selfie Menace : every technology has advantages and disadvantages 

                                                                                                                
Indian society has changed drastically in the 21st century due globalization and technology outbreak, and the change is very fast and significant. No doubt, 21st century is the digital era of computers, laptops, mobiles, and information and connectivity. With new features and multiple apps, a mobile phone is everyone's dream these days. Everyday a new technology is invented, as a result, in heaps new gadgets enter into the markets every second. Confidentially speaking, every new gadget is package of advantages and disadvantages. Initially, facilitated with camera mobile phones mesmerized everyone and people immensely enjoyed clicking photographs incessantly and posting them on social media. The digital era has presented us many gifts, for example one can take any number of photographs and delete them to take some new ones. Comparing to this, I certainly feel the black and white photography days were better. Because everyone treasured those rare images which speak about our history today. A time came with selfie invention and in a very short time a selfie made everyone's life fun filled and beautiful and at the same time miserable and hellish. I never knew how menacing it was till I had to go through that experience myself. In the month of August, 2016 my husband and myself were having a show in Mumbai's famous Jehangir Art Gallery. The show was for seven days. Since Jehangir Art Gallery is centrally located and long standing, many visitors, young and old, drop in continuously till it closes. I was very elated because the first gallery at ground floor was allotted to us and many people would visit our show. But it proved a harrowing experience for me! Definitely, continuous flow was there all the seven days. School - age boys and girls used to come in groups, they used to go through the hall as if they were in hurry to get back to their classes. When they liked a painting, they posed in front of the canvas and took several photographs nonstop without seeking permission, and in that process they blocked the path as well as the painting for other viewers. One group disappeared and another strolled in. Flashy mobiles in hand, with impatient glances at the walls and art works, boys and girls hurried to click selfies with each and every painting. That whole act made us uncomfortable as well as the other senior viewers, who wanted to spend some quality time in their favorite gallery.

While taking the photographs some tried to lean on the canvas, some tried to hold the edges of the paintings - It was really exasperating! I shouted ' stop it’. Since that moment, I told them not to take selfies as it was disturbing the environment. In spite of that, some made requests to take selfies. Some of the viewers not knowing how to take selifes, directly requested us to click for them. What nonsense! Still we obliged. By on third day, we pasted a notice NO PHOTOGRAPHS and NO SELFIES. The flow of visitors was high in the coming days, mainly youths, invariably in jeans and T shirts. Some beautiful girls came in shorts exposing their beautiful tanned thighs; the selfie menace doubled, and it looked as if those visitors purposely

avoided noticing the sticker. For how many people one can inform not to take selfie ? Next two days it was exasperating. On last but previous day, a bunch of college students entered the gallery, they were really elated by seeing the paintings, and we could make out it from their hushed tones and gestures. They spent a good time, unusual for youths. One of them came to us and politely requested us to allow them take some photos. Since they seemed genuinely interested, we Okayed their request. One of them, a tall handsome guy, started posing in front and beside the canvases, one after another, as if some photo session was going for an Ad shoot. Next, the guy went towards the middle of the hall where a huge flower arrangement was, and sat on the floor beside the flowers posing for another click. The whole scene reminded me of the Kingfisher Calendar Girls' Shoot I really felt sorry for those grown up kids because one can flaunt flashy mobiles, dress and audacity but it does not compensate for one’s cultural behavior.