With utter annoyance, I looked back at my last few days that just vanished. I was confined to bed due to some viral infection and my movement had been restricted. Plenty of pending office work, overflowing cupboards and unclean mirrors were teasing me. Been away from the routine for almost ten days and it seemed that bouncing back to the normal would require a lot of extra effort from me. And, these were only ten days.
When my friends Rashi and Manas came up with a blog hop, I literally jumped on the wagon. It was only after the revelation of the theme ‘Decade’ that I started feeling sick. Here the word sick doesn’t specifically refer to physically unfit. Yes, I was attacked by some viral infection and hence imprisoned in my room. What I want to say is that physical ailment is only one part of the story. Another ingredient, that makes it multi-dimensional, is the fear of looking back at the significant ten years that just passed. If I recall the personal achievements of the ‘gone’ ten years, nothing extraordinary occurs to my mind. There were some short-lived celebrity moments but I don’t register them as long term satisfaction. While many people are posting 10-year challenge pictures on social media, I’m struggling with my short-lived memory.
Meanwhile, to my surprise, the world is changed to a great extent. Great to the extent that I need not stress my mind to get the facts clear. The achievements of the world, as a whole, are quite visible in our daily lives. Sadly, not all of them are worth appreciating.
1) Climate Change
In the last few years, we have become used to the term ‘Climate Change’. Saving the environment was never considered an emergency until the last decade. Human development has turned the green environment into a hazard.
Yes, we are affected: Extreme weather conditions are making our lives unbearable. We are scared to eat fruits, drink milk and even breathe.
The explanation is in our celebrated inventions like industry and infrastructure that are creating havoc.
The only #10YearChallenge we should care about 🙏🏼🌍 #M1Ö https://t.co/S8hU7gNgZJ—
Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) January 17, 2019
2) Internet
Today, our existence has become meaningless without internet. We want our smartphones and laptops connected to high-speed internet. Any failure, in any case, makes us furious. I’m one among you who can’t tolerate slow Internet.
The reason is quite simple. All our activities are now hovering in cyberspace. From wristwatch to telegram, everything is replaced by smartphones. The powerful by-product, Social Media has also revolutionized the way we interact.
3) Technology Blast
Technology has sneaked into almost every aspect of our lives. Communication, shopping, banking, commuting, almost all factors have become faster and easier than before. OTT platforms made us access our movies anytime and anywhere.
We are the Google-generation who can find answers to the queries instantly.
Keeping all benefits in mind, there’s a feeling that our dependence on technology has cut short our thinking ability.
..Well, maybe not and this is just a short-lived thought.
4) Media and Social Media
Well, Media needs a special mention here as it has shaped our lives the way nobody had ever expected. Get instant news as they break, buy-sell things and create a network of pals online. Woah, it has literally blown my mind but who cares anyway.
Today, our virtual friends and followers list is far bigger than real friends. The irony is that sometimes we don’t find anybody to talk to in actual life when the internet is down;)
5) Mental Health added as an important part of overall health
In the ten years that recently completed, we can see a lot of people talking about mental health issues frankly. Ten years ago, the definition of health included physical and mental health but usually, only physical health issues were addressed. Discussing mental health was considered a taboo. With the rise in psychological disturbances, the need to address these issues increased by a huge proportion. I am glad that even celebrities choose to express their thoughts on the significance of Mental Health.
PANORAMIC RIPPLES 
While in many ways, you are describing the human condition (and I’m a lot older than you are), the last decade has been worse in many ways and I think the technology and social media have a lot to do with it. I think we are disconnected with ourselves and most certainly with others. The more people we “talk” to on this machine, the lonelier we feel–and I think it’s worse for younger people because they don’t socialize in person the way we grew up to do. The world is so much more anonymous and impersonal, not to mention these technical malfunctions are so much more upsetting. They occur almost constantly–problems with phones, computers, tv apps and more. I don’t get a week to go by without being frustrated beyond belief. I am not a believer in a “global” world. We used to be a small, local agrarian society and now we not only are affected by someone sneezing in China, we have to deal with the problems of an entire world when we are powerless to do much about any of it. There is definitely less peace in my world and decades gone. I’m not doing much to perk you up I know, but I do understand what you’re saying. Eckhart Tollle’s A New Earth helps me quite a bit, but I have to read it everyday and I left my copy up at my camp/home thinking I wouldn’t be here taking care of my dad that long–it’s been a year now. If you haven’t read it, give it a try. Happy Sunday.
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I am glad you wrote about mental health. It is very important for people to understand mental illness is worst than physical illness. Specially nowadays anxiety and depression are two monsters that have emerged out. Most of the people are not even aware they are going through depression as they fail ti speak up and no body is supportive. It is very important that any person going through depression should have one person who he can confide into completely and help him in coming out of it.
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You have covered the hotspots of the last decade with crisp and beauty 😊good luck to you.
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True there may be many things which have remained same in the last decade but our surroundings have changed so much and it time we need to give a serious thought about a lot of things.
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Nice post summarising some significant milestones of the decade.
Climate change is scary and so is our dependence on the net.
And you’re so right – nothing irritates us more than a slow net!
Unfortunately all development is good but misused by us.
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Aditi you have written about the immense changes around us in the past decade and the best part was that you wrote about mental health.. This is something many people shy about talking.. But in this era of technology with hardly any personal bonds it is becoming a danger for our welfare..Loved reading your post..Hope you have now doing well..My best wishes to you for a bright future..
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Totally agree! I loved the post. You pointed out very relevant topics. Climate change is a major threat. I am glad you also talked about mental health. We often ignore our depression and stress levels which we are collecting day by day. No doubt, today is the era of social media and high use of internet activities.
Deepika Mishra
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Wonderful summary of the decade gone by. Glad to find ‘ mental health’ as one of the additions.
Technology boom is tough to catch up with but exciting. Climate change however is worrisome.
A mixed bag of a decade that you have encapsulated there.
Have a great 2020
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Every change has good as well bad sides. And we are ourselves responsible for these changes, so it is up to us how we look at it. These recent changes can make or break the mankind
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Focusing on mental health is the one good thing that I learnt from last decade. We should definitely worry about the climate changes that our happening. Only worrying is not helpful, we should start the precautionary measures now.
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Mental health! Thank you for talking about it. In an era where countless women (and men) and children suffer from a series of challenges, it’s important to raise awareness and celebrate our differences.
Lovely post!
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Another lovely read from you, Aditi. You have covered some important topics and most importantly mental health. Not many people accept it and talk about it. Hope we understand these concerns and try and bring about some change in the coming decade. Wishing you a great decade ahead 🙂
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Well penned about the important changes that occured in the past decade esp the climate change and the social media boom.Awareness about mental health has increased for the betterment of people. It is important to realize these changes and take the necessary steps to make the earth a better place for our future generations !
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Hi Aditi. What a well encapsulated post. You have summarised well the past decade.
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Hey Aditi, You really have touched upon the raw nerves of the citizen in me. I only hope that we as a society and a culture take some constructive measures to save our kids the hassle of facing the consequences of our deeds, specially when it comes to climate change and the addiction to electronic gadgets.
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I am glad you could write this post, Aditi!. Yes, you spoke of all the necessary evils that came up in the last decade. The worse are Climate Change and Mental Health. I hope at least in this decade, we try to address these two issues
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The bloghop came up with various issues and everyone acknowledged the presence of the decade. True that… Asking where has the decade gone?
We have advanced technically but our roots and human values must make a comeback!
I completely agree!
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So many advancements over the past decade. But they make you wonder…. at what cost? Your post makes one think. Enjoyed reading it. Great to reconnect with you via the blog hop.
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You summarized the major happenings of the decade in 5 points keeping the best for last. Mental health. We need more awareness of this.
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Sad to hear that you were ill, Aditi. I hope you’re feeling better now.
You have made some astute observations about the decade gone past, in this post.
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You have covered important changes that happened during past decade . Some good some bad . Good that there’s internet , social media , but people have lost real human interaction. Good that people have started opening up on mental health but bad that climate is changing in a negative way .
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You have covered all aspects of the decade gone by – that each one of us can very well relate to. Happy to note that you have also given importance to mental health that is often ignored!
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A fabulous take on the decade. Too many concerns and too little solutions. We all need to do our bit for conserving and protecting our planet. Good going.
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Hello Aditi….Don’t underrate urself and every little happiness is an achievement in itself. If there is any mental health issue please reach out.I am always there. I suffer from chronic depression and I know what it is all about and have helped many others.but sadly when I go through it I cannot help myself and I do not have anyone who can help either. Cheers girl!
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Social Media has certainly changed all of our lives.
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