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By:

Anil D. Salve

21 March 2026 at 8:11:09 pm

A Drought of Wisdom in an Ocean of Information

We live in an age where information is everywhere. With a single click, we can access news from across the world, thousands of opinions, countless videos and endless claims. Knowledge has never been so accessible. Yet, in this overwhelming flow of information, something increasingly scarce is discernment-the ability to distinguish what deserves our belief from what deserves our doubt. Information and knowledge are not the same. Reading, watching or hearing something does not automatically...

A Drought of Wisdom in an Ocean of Information

We live in an age where information is everywhere. With a single click, we can access news from across the world, thousands of opinions, countless videos and endless claims. Knowledge has never been so accessible. Yet, in this overwhelming flow of information, something increasingly scarce is discernment-the ability to distinguish what deserves our belief from what deserves our doubt. Information and knowledge are not the same. Reading, watching or hearing something does not automatically make it true. We need the ability to verify information, understand its context, recognise its purpose and only then form an opinion. In the digital age, this ability has become one of the most important forms of wisdom. Social media has transformed the way information travels. WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and other platforms have made communication faster, wider and more accessible. But the same speed that connects society can also overwhelm it. Information often reaches us before facts do. A headline is read before the full story. A short video is watched without knowing what happened before or after it. A photograph is circulated without its original context. A message arrives with the familiar words, “Forwarded as received,” and within minutes it may reach thousands of people. By the time the truth catches up, the rumour may already have done its work. The problem becomes even more serious when misinformation is deliberately created and circulated. Rumours may be planted not merely to mislead individuals but to divert public attention from an important issue, create suspicion, damage someone's reputation or push society towards a particular narrative. A distraction does not always need to be completely false. Sometimes a small piece of truth is mixed with exaggeration, selective facts or emotional language. The result can be more powerful than an outright lie because it appears believable. This is how narratives are manufactured. Social media platforms can become powerful tools in this process. A repeated claim begins to look familiar, and familiarity is often mistaken for truth. A provocative post attracts attention. Thousands of reactions create the impression that “everyone” believes it. One emotional video triggers another, comments intensify the mood, and before facts have an opportunity to speak, public sentiment may have already shifted. This is where mob psychology enters the picture. A society can move from calm to anger, suspicion to trust, or optimism to fear with surprising speed. People who would ordinarily think carefully may react differently when they see thousands of others expressing outrage, fear or hostility. The individual begins to follow the crowd, and the crowd begins to reinforce the individual. The danger is not limited to negative emotions. The same mechanism can also be used positively-to mobilise people for social causes, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, public awareness and community action. Technology itself is neither wise nor foolish. Its impact depends on how information is created, amplified and consumed. The greatest danger, therefore, is not that we have too much information. It is that we may lose the habit of thinking while consuming it. We are increasingly becoming consumers of information rather than creators of thought. Everyone has access to information today, but access does not necessarily mean understanding. The boundaries between a rumour and a report, an opinion and a fact, popularity and truth are becoming increasingly blurred. A post does not become true because thousands of people have liked it. A video does not become evidence merely because it has gone viral. An opinion does not become a fact because it is expressed confidently. An idea does not become correct simply because it confirms what we already believe. This last point deserves particular attention. We often accept information not because it is accurate, but because it is comfortable. We are naturally attracted to information that confirms our existing beliefs and suspicious of information that challenges them. In the digital world, this tendency can be amplified by algorithms that repeatedly expose us to content similar to what we have already watched, liked or shared. Gradually, we may find ourselves living inside an information bubble where we hear many voices-but mostly voices that agree with us. That is not diversity of information. It is an illusion of certainty. Discernment does not mean doubting everything. It means thinking before believing. It means asking simple but powerful questions: Who is saying this? What is the evidence? What is the context? What may be missing? Who benefits if I believe it? And have I heard the other side? These questions may take only a few seconds, but they can prevent hours, days or even years of misunderstanding. This responsibility is particularly important for the younger generation. Children today are growing up in an environment of unprecedented information exposure. They can encounter more information in a few hours than earlier generations might have encountered in weeks. Therefore, education cannot merely teach students how to collect, remember and reproduce information. It must teach them how to question, verify, analyse and interpret it. A student who can write the correct answer in an examination may be academically successful. But a student who knows how to ask the right question is better prepared for life. The classroom of the future must therefore produce not merely informed students, but thinking citizens. They must learn that forwarding a message is also a form of responsibility. Sharing a post is not an innocent act when it can affect someone's reputation, create public fear or influence social behaviour. The challenge becomes even greater in the age of Artificial Intelligence. AI can generate information, images, audio and video with extraordinary speed and sophistication. The distinction between what is real and what merely appears real may become increasingly difficult. In such a world, human judgment becomes more valuable, not less. Technology can produce an answer in seconds. It cannot automatically tell us whether that answer deserves our trust. Some answers require experience. Some require context. Many require the ability to think independently. We have more information, more technology and more connectivity than any previous generation. Yet our real challenge is to preserve something technology cannot manufacture for us: the capacity to think for ourselves. The ocean of information will only become larger. The question will no longer be, “How much information do we have?” The more important questions will be: What should we accept? What should we question? What should we verify? And what should we reject? No technology can completely answer these questions for us. No number of likes can substitute for evidence. No viral trend can replace judgment. No majority can turn misinformation into truth. That responsibility belongs to human beings. Information can tell us what happened. Discernment helps us understand what it means, why it happened, what may be missing from the story and how we should respond. Perhaps, therefore, the greatest educational challenge of our time is not to teach people how to find more information. They already know how to do that. The greater challenge is to teach them how to pause-to pause before believing, to pause before reacting, to pause before forwarding and to pause before joining the crowd. Because sometimes the most intelligent response to information is not an immediate reaction, but a moment of reflection. The ocean is already around us. It is growing deeper every day. What we need now is not more information to swim through it-but the wisdom to know which direction to take. (The writer is the Principal of Podar International School, Ausa, Latur. Views personal.)

Vanishing Skills in a Digital Age

Writer: Anil D. Salve
Anil D. Salve
Apr 24
4 min read

We live in a time where almost everything is just a tap away. Smartphones guide our travel, artificial intelligence answers our questions, and digital tools make daily life faster and easier than ever before. Convenience has become the defining feature of modern life. From ordering food to attending meetings, technology has transformed the way we live, work, and communicate.


However, beneath this remarkable progress lies a quiet and often unnoticed loss-the gradual disappearance of everyday human skills that once defined independence and capability. Many of the tasks that were once considered basic life skills are now being replaced by machines, apps, and automated systems. While technology saves time, it also reduces the need to think, remember, repair, and interact in traditional ways.


Take navigation as an example. Earlier generations could confidently read paper maps, follow road signs, and use landmarks to find their way. People developed a natural sense of direction and observation. Today, most of us rely entirely on GPS. We trust the voice on our phone more than our own understanding of roads. If the phone battery dies or the internet fails, many people feel completely lost.


Memory is another skill that is quietly fading. There was a time when people remembered phone numbers of family members, addresses, birthdays, and important appointments without any digital assistance. Now, mobile phones store everything for us. Many people struggle to recall even their closest contacts’ numbers because there is no longer a need to remember.


Handwriting, especially cursive writing, is disappearing from schools and daily life. Typing on keyboards and mobile screens has replaced pen and paper. While digital writing is faster, it lacks the personal touch and emotional connection of handwritten words. A handwritten letter carries warmth and personality that a typed message often cannot match. Along with handwriting, spelling and grammar skills are also weakening due to heavy dependence on autocorrect features.


The ability to repair things is also vanishing. Earlier, people fixed broken chairs, repaired fans, stitched torn clothes, and solved small household problems on their own. Today, the common response is replacement rather than repair. This throwaway culture increases waste and reduces practical knowledge. Younger generations often grow up without learning basic hands-on problem-solving skills.


Attention Span

Another major concern is the decline in attention span. Reading a full book, focusing on one task for hours, or engaging deeply with complex ideas requires patience. In the age of short videos, endless scrolling, and constant notifications, sustained focus is becoming rare. People are becoming used to instant entertainment and quick answers. This not only affects learning but also weakens critical thinking.


Critical thinking itself is under threat. Since answers are easily available online, fewer people pause to question, analyse, or verify information. Search engines provide quick solutions, but they do not always teach understanding. People may know the answer without knowing why it is correct. This habit can create dependence on information without wisdom.


Social skills are changing as well. Text messages, voice notes, and emojis have replaced many face-to-face conversations. While digital communication is convenient, it often removes important human elements such as eye contact, tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. Younger generations, especially, may find in-person conversations more uncomfortable than online chats. This affects confidence, empathy, and emotional understanding.


Survival Skills

Basic survival skills are also becoming uncommon. Growing food, cooking from scratch, basic first aid, sewing a button, or handling emergencies without digital help were once normal abilities. Today, many people depend on online tutorials for even the simplest tasks. Mental math is another forgotten skill. Calculators and mobile apps solve everything instantly, leaving little room for mental exercise and quick thinking. Perhaps the most surprising loss is the ability to sit quietly and be alone with one’s thoughts. Silence has become uncomfortable for many people. Music, videos, social media, and constant notifications fill every spare moment. Yet it is often in silence that creativity grows, self-awareness develops, and emotional strength is built. Reflection is becoming rare in a world that rewards constant stimulation.


Other subtle skills are fading too-active listening, patience, time management without reminders, and learning through trial and error. Many people now expect immediate results and quick solutions. The willingness to struggle, practice, and improve slowly is becoming less common. Technology itself is not the enemy. It is one of the greatest tools humanity has created. It improves healthcare, education, communication, and productivity. The challenge is not technology, but our overdependence on it. Convenience should support human ability, not replace it completely. The future should be about balance. We must continue embracing innovation while also preserving the fundamental skills that make us independent, thoughtful, and resilient. Knowing how to navigate without GPS, write by hand, repair something broken, think critically, and communicate with empathy still matters. Progress should not mean forgetting what once made us capable human beings. In a digital age, preserving human skills is not old-fashioned-it is essential.


(The writer is Principal, Podar International School, Ausa, Latur. Views personal.)

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