Kelvi nyanam - Knowledge acquired through questioning

Recently I was wondering about the markedly different ways in which me and my children  seek information. I am talking not about world affairs or far fetched theories. I am confining myself to everyday needs and the information required for routine living. The way I go about it is to look around and ask a person who I think knows or who I think has a good chance of knowing.Or,  I would make a call to the person who I think would be able to lead me on to the correct source of information. The network effect. But now I see my children really shying away from reaching out to the known and unknown people who could give them the information that they need.They would rather use impersonal sources like the internet or social media where they do not have to have a one on one personal interaction.

Google maps it will be when stuck in a maze of roads in a new city. I feel quite okay to pull the shutters down and ask the nearby autorickshaw driver. Most of the time they give correct directions and it is the same with google. Once we got stuck in a dead end of a road and such a narrow road that we found it very tough to reverse the car. But the google map was asking us to plough through the buildings there and go to the address we were looking for. But I am digressing. I am not here to analyse the relative merits of both the system but to look at the underlying cause of the shift in preference, impersonal to personal.

Superficially it appears as though since the world is at their fingertips and smart phones make it so easy for them to get the information that they want without troubling anybody else. But when I reach out to my neighbour or friend or a person on the road, I never thought I am troubling them. Neither did they. So, when did this distancing oneself come about?

I remember when we were kids, we used to try to solve the crossword puzzle. If we were stuck for a word, we would ask to everyone in the room(we did sit together in the same room to relax, by the way) what is the synonym of 'asds'. Somebody or the other would answer but nobody would say,go and refer 'synonyms and antonyms  book upstairs.  Today, such a setting is rare and when I throw this question, i can at best get a " why dont you refer google  ma"  and there will be a trace of irritation to be disturbed from whatever they are doing.

My children hesitate a lot before taking up the phone to ask their friends for anything.But then they are forever on the phone, talking all sorts of things.But the minute they need to ask about a course or how to prepare for some exam or where do you get accessories for the new dress in this place, there is a great reluctance. They dont feel they are close enough to take advantage of them.. My logic is you need something you reach out to somebody, and you are quite okay with them reaching out to you when they need something. We are not islands, we need other people and more than that, there is pleasure in touching base with another person.

Many a time you not only get what you asked for  but much more, interesting tit bits and some more stuff you can use at another time. Like when  I ask my friend about a reliable jewellery shop in the new town, she will tell me if she knows or will get back to me through her network and also tell me the customer experience in that particular shop. It is a total package and wholesome.

The more face time the better we say. But it is not so for the gen next.
Let us continue the search...