[Reader-list] Charlane Pereira e Rebello: Our Digital Goa
Patrice Riemens
patrice at xs4all.nl
Thu Dec 10 00:14:27 CST 2015
A bit (too?) upbeat, but OK ...
Enjoy the optimism!
Original to: http://www.goastreets.com/our-digital-goa/
Our Digital Goa
by Charlane Pereira e Rebello 04/12/2015
Why You Shouldn’t Be Surprised If Your 85-Year-Old Goan Grandmother
Loves To Google
It seems like only yesterday when “chatting” meant talking to another
human being, when “liking” something did not require clicking, when
“clicking” was the way you turned on your TV, and when “tweeting” was
something done by parakeets.
Yes, Goa still has cows on the road, climbers of coconut trees, stompers
of cashew nuts and net-wielding fishermen pulling in the catch of the
day. But that it also has WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
Pinterest is a testament to how harmoniously tradition and modernity
coexist in the sunny state.
If the digital revolution is sweeping India, it’s inundating Goa like a
veritable tsunami. India’s 2011 census showed that Goa has the highest
percentage of Internet users in all of India, a country where overall
Internet penetration grows by around 30 percent a year, according to
global digital analyst comScore.
While some 30 percent of Indians now have access to the Internet in one
form or another (usually through mobile phones), the figure in Goa is
believed to be well over 50 percent, though no exact figures are
available.
“The availability of cheaper phones, various schemes, bold advertising,
and higher standards of living have made it possible for almost everyone
to own a phone and use internet. No wonder we see most teenagers and
adults alike glued to their phone-sets for most of the waking hours,”
says Ketan, a mobile phone dealer.
What does this mean in practical terms? It means you shouldn’t be
shocked if the lady who serves tea in the office suddenly sends you a
Facebook “friend” request. Or if the guy who clears your monsoon weeds
requests a scheduling change via WhatsApp. Or if your kid thinks you’re
old-fashioned because you still prefer Facebook to Snapchat. Or if your
85-year-old grandmother has suddenly learned to Google.
It also means that if you’re a business person, a professional of any
kind, an educator or just a regular person going about her daily
sussegado Goan life, it’s probably a good idea to get wired and embrace
the social media temblor, if only to make sure you’re keyed in to the
world around you.
And yet to not see the downside of all this is to deny reality. What is
all that time staring at a screen really doing to the minds of the
youngest among us? The science on this is far from clear, but as a
psychologist I would definitely recommend limiting that time until we
fully understand the lasting effects.
Clicking selfies … Putting up profile pictures … Updating Facebook pages
with the most recent news in your life… Our hearts and minds are riveted
by digital content, and accumulating Facebook “likes” and Twitter
followers can be like a heroin addict’s fix. Is it really healthy for
happiness and self-esteem to come from Facebook likes? And what about
those of us who don’t much care for Facebook or Twitter, who are happy
with moderate-to-mediocre digital skills, and who miss the good old days
of books, real conversation and other analog pleasures?
Truth be told, however, there’s no reason we can’t enjoy the best of
both worlds, and the digital world certainly has its own set of
pleasures.
For Savia D’Souza, Facebook is about catching up with online players in
intellectual game of scrabble. The moment she reaches home from her
work, she rushes to her desktop to enjoy this game of forming words. She
is a veritable Scrabble addict (better than heroin, no?).
Many access the internet to download songs, watch movies, read articles,
shop and, much to the chagrin of a great many Goan spouses and parents,
access pornography.
Online shopping is another phenomenon that has taken Goa by storm.
Alfa-mobile-internet-prepaid-min
Sophia Dias of Loutolim says, “Online shopping is quite cheap as
compared to physically going and buying items from shops. My cousins and
I love to purchase items from Myntra and Flipkart. No hassles of going
out in the heat or getting wet in the rains! Wider choice! Who wouldn’t
be happy?”
Some retailers feel the pinch of online competition offering substantial
discounts. Where does that leave the good old shopper who loves to
frequent bazaars and stores in person?
“I love to go and buy things. I am not net savvy. At my age, I doubt I
can indulge in e-shopping. I am 63 years old now,” says Savia from
Chinchinim.
Want to travel to Mumbai or Bangalore or Pune? Book your train tickets
online rather than queue up for that that small piece of rectangular
paper given at the railway station. Are you planning a trip to the Holy
Land or Europe or a vacation in the Maldives? Many prefer to book their
own flight tickets online at various sites like MakeMyTrip.com rather
than visit the travel agent (a dying breed if there ever was one!).
Even medicines can be booked online, though beware of the risk of buying
the wrong medication. Doctors form their own forums and offer medical
advice on the net.
Hubert Rodrigues from Fatorda adds, “Digitalization has helped people to
make online payments of public utilities – water and electricity
departments. Important property documents like Form I and XIV can be
accessed online.”
Students form another group who have benefited greatly from a digital
Goa, conducting online courses, updating their knowledge base and
applying for scholarships.
Not too long ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Facebook
Founder Mark Zuckerberg shared a stage in California and declared India
as the world’s next digital frontier. Goa, the country’s richest and
most well-educated state, is well positioned to lead the way. Even so,
please remember to ask your Goan children to read books. And if they do
so on an iPad or Kindle, it still counts.
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