How Two Years of the Covid-19 Pandemic Have Impacted Emotional Development in Teenagers

Two years of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the ensuing lockdown have led to arrested development of emotional and social skills in teenagers. It is as if almost two years of living under lockdown have robbed teenagers of two very crucial years in their development. The impact of this will be felt in the years to come.

Online learning that took place during the two years of learning, while being a lifesaver, might have also led to an unfortunate exacerbation of the disturbed mental and emotional growth of the youth belonging to all age groups till the age of seventeen. Online learning exposed children in their most impressionable ages to a rather distorted, virtual and mechanical view of the world.

The net result of the two years of the Pandemic and the consequent phases of lockdown has resulted in students becoming more confused, aggressive, stressed out, argumentative, and emotionally vulnerable to a degree that is most alarming. Students have become louder as they strive to make a point, not on the merits of their arguments, but rather to be heard. Submissions of projects are delayed as students struggle to meet deadlines in the physical world having worked in a more flexible virtual world. Punctuality in school has become a problem as now students need to reach school on time whereas earlier they could join the virtual class in their pyjamas while lying in their beds, of course with their cameras switched off (poor bandwidth being the culprit).

Two years of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the resulting periods of lockdown have robbed children of two important years of emotional and social growth. Being cooped up within the confines of their homes robbed children of the opportunity to socialise with other children in the physical space. This in itself points out the need for children to interact with each in the physical space, to role play and make strong social connections. Children who interact with each other in the physical space learn important coping skills and adjustment strategies; they learn to be better listeners, share ideas, and convince others, besides picking up important linguistic skills.

The Covid-19 Pandemic and the resulting lockdown have resulted in what I would term, an 'arrested emotional development' in children! Parents have expressed hopelessness in addressing serious behavioural issues in their children while the children themselves have expressed disagreement with their parents regarding important matters. This has led to a situation where children are more likely to trust their peers more than their parents or even teachers. We have created a generation of confused teenagers struggling to find their way through a chaotic world transitioning into a virtual world of LMS platforms while parents and teachers have yet to have to get to terms with virtual platforms.

We are now living in a rather chaotic world divided between teenagers struggling to find meaning in life and adults - grown-ups who are themselves struggling to discard and unlearn what they have learned throughout their lives. Imagine living in a world that teaches you that all your parents' wisdom is not obsolete and that you need, instead to adapt to a new world order that is based on LMS Virtual platforms. What would you choose, an actual physical world or a virtual world that is enhanced by Artificial Intelligence? Lockdown and the resulting virtual learning platforms that we have had to depend upon have created an entirely new world order that debunks the culture and philosophy of the previous one. How do you reconcile the values of punctuality, honesty, patience, plodding and respect with the values of instant gratification, gate-crashing, gaslighting, copy-pasting, web-surfing and the resulting instances of plagiarism?

Teenagers are finding it difficult to address real-life problems because now that they have returned to the physical world they have to face challenges that were absent during the lockdown. The very need to wake up in the morning, get ready for school, catch the bus and reach the class on time, resisting the temptation to talk to an acquaintance on the way have all added to the stress of reverting to the normal world. Getting back to the 'Normal' from the 'New Normal of the virtual world' has added to the emotional confusion in teenagers leading to serious mental stress.

The virtual platform has made us lazy, and complacent in terms of submissions. We can now copy-paste stuff from the internet; so, then why do we need to slog in the library studying from books that are readily available online? The virtual platform of learning and ease of access to websites with readymade materials have destroyed the very concept of hard work, perseverance and patience in teenagers studying in schools and colleges. There is a clash of cultures between teenagers and adults, parents and teachers whereby the meaning of rigour and hard work in academics has changed completely from what it meant in earlier times. It is this clash of cultures that has led to emotional and mental turmoil in teenagers. Unfortunately, teachers, elders and parents are themselves undergoing an emotional upheaval of sorts which ill-equips them to handle problems in teenagers. The need of the hour is for schools, colleges and education boards to address emotional and mental problems being faced by teenagers post the Pandemic. What the Pandemic and the resulting lockdown have done is to accelerate a process of transition from one world order to another one, something that, in normal circumstances would have taken decades!

The world is going through a crisis in the field of education where we need to instil timeless values that have been handed over to us down the generations. Social values have become diluted and modified by the demands of living in a rather unreal, virtual world that is defined by what we are able to see on the screens of our internet enabled devices. We are living on the cusp of change, a civilisation driven by the exigencies of a pandemic that has forced us into a culture that is undergoing rapid transformation. Our children are at stake even as they struggle to identify their roles in a world that is shifting its priorities from that of the physical world to one that is more virtual in nature.

The crisis of change has been driven by the Covid-19 Pandemic and its accompanying lockdowns. Students, especially those belonging to the vulnerable age group of 15 to 17 years. I have mentioned this age range because students aged 15 are usually in grade ten, the first major written summative board exam in India and students reach grade 12 by the age of 17 which is the final major summative board exam in India after which students graduate from school and seek admissions in colleges. Students of grade 10 were not able to sit for their written summative board exams because of the Pandemic with the result that, now, when they are studying in grade twelve, they have very little idea about how to prepare themselves for the grade 12 board exam with the result that they have started panicking and stressing themselves out. This stress has added to their sense of confusion leading to a number of behavioural problems.

Why Photographing Wildlife is Like Fishing for Landlocked Salmon

A pack of Golden Jackals and a pair of Asian Antelopes at the Sultanpur National Park

Some of the best photographs I have taken have turned out to be those shot in unexpected conditions, an experience most wildlife photographers will have experienced. You plan to visit a wildlife sanctuary because the weather is clear. You set out early in the morning and reach the location only to have the weather worsen. The mist rolls in and you are in a state of uncertainty about whether to return home or hope that the wind will drive away the mist. On another occasion you see a large bird flying towards you, you point your camera towards the bird, and see it filling the viewfinder even as you press the shutter button, hoping to have taken your best shot to date, alas, lo and behold, it comes out blurred because the shutter speed was way too low. In other cases, it might be about having the wrong aperture or even the wrong ISO setting. Often the settings you have for still shots will not work for shots that have movement in them, especially those of birds flying in the air. It is clear that photographing wildlife is like fishing for landlocked Salmon. Sometimes you get a good catch, but most often you end up with nothing!

A pack of Golden Jackals and a pair of Asian Antelopes at the Sultanpur National Park

Just yesterday when I visited the Sultanpur National Park early in the morning I least expected to spot a pack of Golden Jackals and a pair of Asian Antelopes, also known as Neel Gai staring down at me down the trail that I was walking on. Thankfully I had been alerted by a fleeting glance of a Golden Jackal fleeting into the underbrush by the side of the trail. You might not however be as lucky when a brace of Partridges shoots across your path just in front of you! At other times you hide in the bushes hoping to take a potshot at some of the ducks paddling around seemingly unaware of your presence, but then, the moment you poke your head out, a Lapwing calls out the alarm and the entire flock vanishes into thin air! It goes without saying that some of your best photographs might not be the ones in which the birds' eyes are in focus, in fact, some of the best photographs might be ones you might discard or delete because you think they are not very clear! Just one day while on a visit to the Najafgarh lake near the Chandu Budhera village I spotted a troika of Flamingos out in the distance. The weather was really bad, thanks to the poor AQI levels and the photographs that I took of these birds turned out to be not so sharp at all. However, on looking at them closely, I realised that while the birds were not so clear, I had however managed to capture the atmosphere and the ambience of the scene. There was a sense of mystery, a sense of suspense in the moment.

Flamingos spotted one misty morning at the Najafgarh Lake

Flamingos can stand on one leg for hours!

As if the weather was not a spoilsport, having a large number of Batchelor Asian Antelopes wander across the scene scaring away that exotic bird you had been trailing so patiently might be a put-off, so you might as well decide to take a snap of the intruders, with good effect . If you can capture their startlement, then I guess it would be a better tradeoff from photographing that exotic bird.

A flock of Asian Antelopes at the Sultanpur National Park

Who was more startled, these Antelopes or me?

How strange it is you visit a national park thinking you will get a few photographs of migratory birds but end up taking photographs of animals! This blog post should have had more pictures of birds than it has, but then, I guess you need to make do with anything that offers a decent enough reason for stepping outdoors on a holiday, early in the morning. I guess you need to have something to justify your inability to stay at home even on a holiday! 

A Kingfisher at the Sultanpur National Park

A Blue-throat at the Sultanpur National Park

A Greater Coucal at the Sultanpur National Park

The best possible photograph that one can take is that of an expression of startlement or amazement etched on the faces of bovine creatures. It is amazing how many of them you will find in a National Park like the Sultanpur National Park. Having a multitude of domesticated animals including stray dogs can defeat the very purpose of having a National Park for migratory birds.

We need to have a National Park for domestic animals too!

The Church of The Epiphany, Gurgaon Hosts its Annual Garden Fete

The Church of The Epiphany, Gurgaon hosted its first Annual Garden Fete on the 6th of November, 2022 after a hiatus of almost two years of the Covid-19 Pandemic. This was a most eagerly awaited occasion especially as it was after a long time that we would meet each other in the church. The English Service and the Hindi service members were seen connecting with each other. The convenors of the fete were Mr Prmod Sagar, Mr Sunil Sannoo, Mr Dipinder Benjamin and Mrs Jyoti Sannoo. The Presbyter In Charge, Revd. Daman Rogers presided over the whole event.

The Chief Guest on the occasion was the Rt. Revd. Bishop Paul Swaroop and the First Lady of the Church of North India Diocese of Delhi. The day started with regular combined mass in the new church and then, it was followed by the formal commencement of the fete itself. It was a moment when everyone was able to meet each other over a cup of tea or even food. There were also a few candid moments that the shutterbug was able to capture.

There were food stalls, games stalls and the most popular White Elephant Stall which was like a flea market where donated items were sold at a discounted rate. The fete started at 11:30 a.m. and came to an end at about 4:30 p.m. The Raffle draw was a huge success with more than 25 prizes being awarded to the lucky winners. The Tambola game too was a great success.

Tackling Understanding Gaps in people

We are all like individual trees, but we are linked by a common purpose

The generation gap is a much-debated concept, especially among those who are counsellors and educators. However, we have probably never seen gaps in understanding taking place so strongly amongst peers! Sibling rivalry has become a major concern today, perhaps even replacing the generation gap. Misunderstandings no longer happen between people who are generations apart, but rather it takes place between siblings who are merely a few years apart. An age difference of even a couple of years is all it needs to create identity clashes. Even twins who are born a few minutes apart never see eye to eye with each other! I am not limiting my observations to siblings but rather include peers - children and students who go to the same school or live in the same society or even community. An interesting story was told to me by my colleague who travels by school bus. She recounted an interesting incident that caught my attention. She narrated how her school bus picked regularly picked her up, followed by, at a little distance, two students of grade seven and thereafter a grade 12 student. One particular day, the bus driver waited for longer than before for the grade 12 student to board the bus. The two grade seven boys asked the others why the driver had stopped the bus. One of the other students stated that they were waiting for a grade 12 student. One of the grade seven boys then remarked, 'But then, I can't see anyone here.' He went on to state, 'Anyway, the bus never stops for us, so why had the driver stopped the bus for her (meaning the grade 12 student). After some time a car arrived depositing the grade 12 student who started walking towards the bus. At this point, one of the grade seven students exclaimed, 'See how slowly she is walking towards the bus. Let us clap for her ', and then they clapped rather loudly. Fortunately, the two grade seven boys had the decency to stop clapping before the grade 12 student boarded the bus.

Whenever I visit a class below the ones I teach, I come across the younger siblings of students I teach in grade twelve and it is with great surprise that I notice how differently they think compared to their elder brothers and sisters. Often, they refer to their elder brothers and sisters with a sort of deferment, somewhat disparagingly. The respect that younger siblings had for their elders seems to be missing, rather as if the little ones have suddenly realised that their elder siblings are merely human! Most of the siblings I met were somewhat ready to make fun of their elders, not that I was ready to continue listening to them!

When I discussed this observation with my students, they agreed that this was something they had themselves noticed younger students making fun of their hairstyle or even dress sense, rather too openly! It is quite apparent that the dissemination of information, thanks to the internet, and access to social media sites is probably speeding up gaps in understanding between people who are not decades apart in age, but rather a couple of years apart. The breaking up of the joint family system, the emergence of nuclear families, and even the advent of the single-parent system are all to blame for gaps in understanding between siblings and even children studying in the same school.

It is quite evident that today we are drifting apart from what used to be a Global Village into what might be termed as Silos. The Ghetoisation of the world into different camps of religion, race, language, philosophy and ethnicity is driven by an increasing sense of exclusion, identity crisis and polarization. We are today, becoming more and more aware of our individual identities as members of a particular religion, community and even age. So, if we come across someone who is elder than us, or even younger than us, we tend to view them as being different or apart from us. Understanding gaps exist between married partners who don't see eye to eye, probably because of age gaps, or even cultural differences. These differences, which might be hidden in the initial years will soon become evident within a few years of marriage. There is competition in marriage, there is competition amongst siblings, and there is competition between lovers! What is even scarier is that the technology that we use today is a double edged sword. While on the one hand it makes hard work easier to perform, it is however placing excessive demands on us individuals in terms of physical and mental output. This demand for an almost mechanical perfection is forcing human beings to compete with each other. This competition is unhealthy in nature and it is at the root of misunderstanding, intolerance and the polarisation that we see in the world today. 

Technology and the internet might have brought us closer in the virtual sense, but then they have also driven us apart emotionally and socially. What then is the solution to this emerging trend? Interestingly, the book of Timothy (in the Bible) states, 'People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without self-control, brutal not lovers of good...conceited'-Timothy 3 1-4. The book of Philippians states, 'Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his interests but also to the interests of others.'-Phillipians 2:3-4 The book of Peter 1 states, 'Honour everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the Emperor.' - 1 Peter 2:17 The book of Titus states, ' Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity'- Titus 2:7.

The quoted verses from the Holy writ suggest the importance of creating a culture of respect, inculcating self-control, abandoning rivalry, and pride and promoting the spirit of brotherhood. The internet has promoted a culture of rivalry, competition and the pride of 'knowing it all. Perhaps, schools today need to include a curriculum that promotes not only 21st-century skills but also the culture of collaboration, respect for others and ethics. Parents and schools need to nurture important values in their children and students. Unfortunately, we have in our quest for excellence, forgotten the common etiquette that makes social interactions more fluid. The qualities of humbleness, modesty and patience have been discarded for the qualities of boastfulness and impatience. What we don't understand is that life is much more than appearing for a group interview where the person who is most vocal is selected for the next round of assessments for a job. Life is much more than a rat race, and we need to appreciate its more subtle nuances, inspiring moments, epiphanies, fragrances, sights and moments of joy. We can only appreciate each other if we are able to appreciate the spiritual aspects of life.

Gaps in understanding and the resulting deterioration in levels of tolerance for others have become more and more evident especially as highlighted by social media. Cases of road rage mob lynching, use of excessive force by enforcement officers, and instances of domestic abuse, gaslighting and bullying, are all fuelled by gaps in understanding and the resulting intolerance that we have for each other.  These gaps however are not limited and defined by differences in race, language, culture and Geography. A matter of great concern is that even those who share the same language, culture and Geography are becoming more and more intolerant towards each other because of differences in age, not in terms of decades, but rather, in terms of even a couple of years. The reason why we have age-related differences is mainly because of the speed with which technology is growing. Every year is miles apart from its preceding year so a person who was born the previous year will have been born into a year that is completely different from the following year.  An Ambassador car stayed with the family for ages but now you change a car within four or five years. The Nokia phone you once bought for its durability will be discarded in a year or two. We have become victims of a culture based on absolute redundancies, one based on artificial need, comparison and competition. In a world driven by technology and its inexorable hunger for evolution, we humans are merely the cogs or the fuel that feeds this evolution. Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors on an integrated board will double every two years (approximately 18 months). This in itself points towards the doubling of processing power, doubling of memory space, and of course computing power. Today's computing power, however, is doubling every six months and the technology has started becoming obsolete, not in 24 months, but rather in 6 months. 

Does this mean that the culture of redundancies and the culture of technological evolution will soon overtake human beings? Does it mean that soon we human beings too will be subject to the laws of redundancy and antiquation? Is that why today we are not ready to respect those who are elder to us? Do we believe that those who are even a couple of years OLDER than us are now obsolete, anachronistic and thus to be discarded? Are we becoming enmeshed in a culture of  'single-use, use and throw' or even a culture of recycling? If this is what we are headed to, then no wonder, we are facing a severe crisis based on chaos, survival something similar to the raw struggle for survival such as seen in prehistoric times when human beings lived in caves. This means that the core values of the civilisation of the past have just been an eye-wash and that ultimately what matters today is not respect, honesty and sincerity but rather brute strength, cunningness, selfishness and manipulativeness. 

Understanding gaps are driven by the need to succeed, the need to excel and the need to survive. It is all down to Darwin's, Survival of the Fittest! Researchers thought that Moore’s Law might work only till 2015-2020 when the doubling of the number of transistors would slow down to once in three years but this doesn't seem to have happened. To keep up with Moore’s Law, engineers have had to keep shrinking the size of the transistor and a time could come when it would no longer be physically possible to continue doing so! Faced with physical constraints, engineers did manage to introduce tri-gate transistors. It seems, therefore that engineers seem to have reached the limits of Moore’s Laws due to physical limitations and the lack of predictability with regard to determining the exact position of the electron. Quantum Physics stresses this lack of determinism at the sub-atomic level. The limits of Silicon will soon be reached forcing scientists to find alternative materials which will allow smaller transistors, gates and switches to be in place. We are today facing the same crisis that valves, transistors and integrated chips faced in their times.

The advent of AI, Deep Learning, Machine Learning and Data Sciences have had their impact on human beings and their ability to bond emotionally and thus enjoy each other's company. In a world where electronic devices predict your thoughts and even what you mean before you even type stuff where is the room for understanding genuine feelings and emotions. Technology has bridged distances, but has it really brought us closer? Are we, today as emotionally connected as we were twenty, thirty, or even forty years ago? Understanding gaps are driven by this lack of being able to connect to each other in a world where we have begun to allow machines to think for us. We are entering an era of quantum computing. The quantum world is based on randomness, chaos and unpredictability. We are here to learn to live in a world where there are mind-boggling options of possibilities, permutations and combinations. We need to understand that now we need to adapt to branched thinking rather than linear thinking. The problem before us today is not gaps in understanding in people belonging to different generations but rather people who are even a couple of years apart in birth. The quantum world is finally with us and we can only hope to keep up with the advancements taking place in the quantum world. It looks, however as if the human brain cannot keep up with all that advancement and this is why, as we get older, we are not able to adjust to the latest developments in the world of technology. Technology is driving our thought processes and until we have a higher form of AI, I doubt if technology will be able to cater to the emotive aspect of humanity.

There is much to be learned from these birds.

So then, how do we bridge this ever-widening gap between people who belong to different age groups? Not much can be said, especially in times when we are more connected to our devices than to each other. Pablo Neruda would advocate the need to meditate and introspect, the need to take pauses or breaks from our hectic lives. The best solution probably would be to disconnect ourselves from our devices and the internet and then take a vacation with the family to a place where you don't have to keep checking your phone for messages. Taking up hobbies that help you connect with other like-minded people would be a good idea. Or for that effect take up wildlife photography, visit wetlands, mountains, forests or even national parks. Connect with nature! Nature is the perfect antidote for the stress that is caused by the fear of missing out or FOMO, the obsessive need to check the phone for updates on how well your reel or photograph is doing on the internet!

We are, today a more restless and less understanding species because technology is evolving faster than us and we in our fear of being termed obsolete, outdated and eccentric are probably focusing more on being efficient like machines than on building emotional bridges between others. This obsession for machine-like efficiency, this hunger for success is what is robbing us of our emotions, feelings of empathy, respect and ultimately empathy for others. Homes, schools and colleges need to address this restlessness by at least reducing screen time. We need to introduce and enhance Social Emotional Learning modules and introduce or increase the number of co-curricular activities in schools and colleges. We need to encourage students to join hobby clubs in schools and colleges, and, perhaps even visit the beaches or go skiing on ski slopes. We need to promote team-building activities in schools and colleges. It would be great if we could have circle times, group meditation activities and so on. More and more institutions should offer paid family breaks or vacations so that employees can spend quality time with their families. Some good schools host family events in schools such as family days. It is a good idea to take your children to the school where you teach or take your family to the office where you work. It will help them connect to their parents better, and in the same way it would be good if parents could visit their children's schools or colleges to get to meet their teachers and friends.

The idea of individuality, authenticity and originalitiy is good in times when we are striving for success and perfection in a world that is far from perfect. However we need to steer clear from the dangers of polarisation that is being experienced today. The drive for individuality, perfection and authenticity should not be at the cost of equity, brotherhood, fraternity and inclusion. The ultimate purpose of all human beings is to behave as human beings. Humanity is our purpose and to replace it with a mechanistic culture would be a travesty that can not be surmounted. To learn to respect each other's individuality and creativity, to be able to listen to another person's point of view and to be able to learn from others will help remove gaps in understanding in people, thus making our society a happier place to be in.