I watched the ColdFusion video about the educational system’s covert crisis. Generation Alpha is illiterate. According to ASER data, 73% to 77% of Class 3 students are unable to read at the fundamental Level 2 proficiency. While the top has remained relatively unchanged, the decline in scores is usually more pronounced at the lower levels. This occurred prior to the pandemic. Long-term ASER and related analyzes reveal that the learning crisis has persisted for years, with foundational skills remaining stubbornly low. NAS and ASER data show that reading and math scores fell in most states and districts between previous survey cycles (e.g., 2017-2021 for NAS and the steep decline)

In my experience of pursuing studies in school, all your activities occurred through an analog environment. That means, you would write things down in notebooks. You used pens or pencils to write down all that the teacher wrote down on the blackboard in front of your class. As for a Computer science course, it was separate from other subjects. These Computer science classes were different in that they focused on teaching students the fundamentals of computers along with simple programming. My interaction with a mobile phone started only after I graduated from college. I could only use the home computer once in a week for a maximum of two hours. Hence, I usually spent the other time either studying or playing with friends in the evenings for a limited period of time.

After OF, of course, short-form video is the worst thing that has emerged in recent years. TikTok is where it all began. The endless scroll feature, where each video ends and the next one starts playing instantly, is just the icing on the cake. Instant dopamine release results from the brain learning to participate in the next hit. It’s amusing to see how difficult it is for them to watch a full YouTube video, even at two times the speed; they are eager to get to the important part. Instant gratification is the new default.

The only way to improve it, in my opinion, is to allow your children to become bored and then allow them to read, write, or draw instead of staring at a screen. Instead of simply “asking ChatGPT,” have them search the internet for a solution. “May God help you” if you are one of the parents who must buy an iPad for their children in order for them to fit in with society and you to demonstrate your social status.

On a serious note, I’d like to thank my parents and teachers for forcing me to read large books essentially preventing me from brain rot.