IMPACT OF COVID-19: CHILDREN FORGET THINGS
By: Syed Mustafa AhmadSyedmustafaahmad9@gmail.com
Covid-19 brought many problems with it. The problems are social , political , economic , health problems, moral , etc. All but health problems are visible. People, being closer, are far apart from each other, businesses are shut and poverty is increasing with each passing day, governments don’t have any other concern but how to respond to the grievances of the people, who are shattered due to the novel Corona Virus, people or students misbehave or have become aggressive due to the pandemic; however, there are many health problems that are invisible. Anxiety, depression, forgetting, mental fatigue, intellectual stagnation, etc., are hidden. All are dangerous, but the new trend that I have been experiencing among my students, is that they forget things. I run a private coaching centre, where I have come the cases where students tell me plainly that sir, I am unable to do the assignments and homework due to forgetting. This thing motivated me to write the article. I have been thinking about for a long time and I have come to conclude that it not only is pandemic, but there are other factors that have supported the pandemic to make our students a burden for themselves as well for society. In the coming lines, the causes responsible for this are discussed. The first is Covid-19. It has restricted the movements of students. They are confined to their homes. Their mental horizon is narrowed. They are only used to the fear of the novel Corona virus, that will spread to them. It brings anxiety. It restricts your social horizon, political horizon, economic horizon, etc., as they fear in touching each other. In this way, they are lost in the world of isolation, where others have no entry. In this vaccum, students forget basic things. As already said, their lives are so narrowed that there is minimal area in their minds to tread upon. The second is Covid-induced smartphone addiction. Apart from many miseries, one of the miseries it brought with it, is the addiction of smartphones. From a kid to the university scholar, all are busy in so-called online classes. However, a majority of them are busy in some other things like games, video making, useless chats, etc. Lost in the virtual world has made them lose contact with the actual world. It has become necessary for them to remember the things related to the virtual world than the actual world. It has consequences in the form of forgetting. I remember that students remember efficiently how many likes and dislikes they get on the social media. In this way, they have no inclination towards the basic things of life like food, shelter, clothing, education, etc. The third is negative concept of globalization. When the pandemic hit the world, at that time, globalization had spread its wings far and wide. In this coincidental situation, remaining at homes and embracing the modern technology, acted as the last nail in the coffin. Now, anybody who doesn’t have technical know how, in the form of a smartphone, is considered illiterate and unfit to live. It would have been like this: technology in the restricted manner, while having a close contact with the nature. However, it is vice versa. The negative concept of globalization or technology has made it hard to live the actual lives, but the life of forgetting. The fourth and last is our societal behaviour. We behave in an awkward manner with our children. They, at this moment, need support and care. Leave competition for a moment. Enjoy time with them. Make them optimistic that this time will go away. Those days will come back when everything was good. They will go through this difficult time in this manner. However, its opposite can be dangerous. So, the need of the hour is to make a long-term arrangement for the future of our students, by safeguarding their present. They need our attention. Calmly try to listen to them and make it possible that they take interest in the homely things as well. Forgetting is a beginning of the chain of diseases. If God forbid, the present situation remains as it is, we may a tsunami of diseases among the children. Let us rise to the occasion and prove mature.
