THE rise of hypercompetition and the rat race have tremendously affected human lives. Work-life imbalance and the sheer amount of workload have threatened every aspect of our lives in terms of family, relationships, friends and personal development. This has been exacerbated by the new norm, which has made us more isolated in respect to sharing quality time with family and children, as we are constantly working, thus decreasing our value of self-development.
Human lives are now in jeopardy as we succumb to the aspirations of “Silicon Valley” that prevail around the globe. The newly announced metaverse by Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg aspires to merge physical, augmented and virtual reality in a shared online space, which will create a virtual world that may somehow deprive us of physical connection that is biologically needed.
If we are not careful, our whole life may be consumed and wasted on social media alone, which will distract us from our personal goals and development. Although technology has helped us in many ways, we need to be able to prioritise between working and developing ourselves for a better future.
The constant overwork for other people’s vision has made us suffer from burnout, digital fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders from the time spent sitting in front of a screen, that has consequential effects on our health and well-being.
Self-development is a process of improving oneself in the pursuit of personal growth that includes personal skills, competencies, talents and knowledge. However, there is a need for human contact in the pursuit of self-development, and this becomes scarce in the light of the new norm, and it is replaced by digital gadgets that we constantly depend on.
The growing concern is for the younger generation, who are at a great loss. Hopelessness and nihilistic behaviour towards the future is detrimental for the growth of this country. The pandemic, which has led to unfortunate situations for the poor and underprivileged, has created a crisis for the younger generation, who are at risk of losing their hopes and dreams.
Therefore, it is crucial that we have plans to shape our future, and work towards those goals and self-development. Otherwise, we will constantly feel unmotivated and uninspired, thus, succumbing to whatever situation that befalls us.
We should try to spend at least one day a week to think about our purpose and goals in life, and how significant they are in helping others in the world.
Dr Sheikh Ali Azzran
Senior Lecturer
UiTM Shah Alam
