T he UN General Assembly declared 15th May as The International Day of Families. This day is celebrated to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to mark the bond of families, societies, traditions, and cultures around the world. This much-needed institution has been witnessing drastic changes for the last few decades both in terms of its structure and functions. The joint family structure has been replaced by the nuclear family system. Earlier this trend was common in urban areas now it is prevalent in rural areas as well.
Similarly, modern inventions, discoveries, commercialization of goods and workforce, the dominance of materialism, etc impact it to a great extent. In a joint family system, children learn the division of labor and work together to achieve a common goal. In the long run, working together as a team will help children harness social skills and learn teamwork, a crucial aspect of their overall personality development. Elders follow certain principles, and children may naturally inherit the value system. Children learn the lessons of ethics and morality under the guidance of the elders. If something goes against the family values, the elders correct it immediately, ensuring that the family’s values are not compromised. Elders of the family can be the repository of knowledge and wisdom.
Grandparents with vast experience, judgment, and knowledge can guide an individual in transforming his/her life. The joint family system is the center of all kinds of recreation. It acts like a modern club without its evil effects. But in modern times modern gadgets like excessive use of smartphones, laptops, etc imbalanced the whole social environment of our homes/families. Instead of listening to stories from grandparents now, children prefer to play with smartphones. Young, old even kids have become so obsessed with smartphones that they hardly get any time for interaction. Family members sitting in different rooms or sharing the same room, sitting at different corners with their smartphones or tabs become the common site of every household. This trend is not in any way good for our society. This virtual world is distancing our younger generation from the real world, their lives become dull.
Furthermore, this attitude leads to the scarcity of moral values, cooperation, mutual respect, tolerance emotions, love, and affection among the young generation. Another social change that affects our family system is the changing role of family members, in traditional societies only male members were supposed to take care of the economic needs of a family. In modern times both male and female members are doing outdoor jobs. There are sociological reports that show that earning by both partners strengthens the financial position of families on the one hand but at the same time it harms our social life. It has been seen that such families play very little role in socializing their children where both the parents are at work.
Much of their socialization is now taking place through specialized agencies such as daycare centers, schools, etc. But it is an admitted fact that the child here gets the secondary love that is more commercial. As the child grows up, his/her peer circle becomes more important for the children as they spend more time with them. Thus, the mother’s role as a full-time mentor and guide is curtailed to a great extent. Almighty Allah has bestowed human beings the faculty of reasoning, the capacity of introspection, and the proper understanding of making the comparison of two different situations. It is high time for a man to use these gifted qualities and make a good choice of such social changes which have directly or indirectly impacted our lives. Let us introspect and see where we are heading.
Haroon Rashid Bhat is a teacher by profession. He Can be mailed at minamharoon123@gmail.com
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