Are we turning into social retards?
Voice of the Valley by Pearl Lee, as published in Malay Mail today. HE sat quietly in the corner of the room, eyes fixed on the small screen of his mother’s smartphone. There was hardly any interaction with others. He was fixated watching Barney and Friends while swiping the screen, from one app to another. He even knew how to skip the advertisement which appeared before his YouTube video loaded. Benny turned two recently but he uses the smartphone like a pro. His parents have no qualms allowing their son to fiddle with such a gadget. It’s called the “hand pacifier”. “It’s easy for you to say. When you have a child, you’ll end up doing the same,” the mother remarked sarcastically as she passed the phone to her son right after answering a phone call. Other parents claimed they bought phones especially for their toddlers. Afraid their more expensive devices would break once in the hands of their curious young ones, they prefer buying cheaper alternatives which will...