India, April 19 -- The sheer impulsiveness with which current times urge us to act is usually nerve wracking, and often terrifying. A time-traveller from even 20 years ago might be forgiven for shuddering in his old style boots at the frenetic pace at which we live today. Blinkit and Zepto sorts of apps have enabled trigger-happy youngsters, as also oldies, to leap before they look! The time-tested concepts of due diligence, frugality and even 'barkat', as old-timers would call it, are no longer in vogue. To recklessly spend digital dollars (which sound sexier than our poor rupees) has become par for the course. Most people with reasonable livelihoods are today ordering one goodie after another, one box after another, and even one service after another, at the click of a button. Thus, bike riders are rushing to deliver, all over the land, even as I write these lines. People are opening up parcels and littering the landscape, often with impunity. Aggregators are laughing all the way to the bank (though they don't need to go there, these days). Cafes are doing roaring business while quick-commerce apps are raking in the moolah. The art of the pause, much appreciated by writers and thinkers over the centuries, has been unceremoniously hurtled out of the proverbial window. No one has any time to pause and think. To let things sink in. To imbibe, ingrain, reflect and ponder. Families are unable to spend quality time together. Adults ingratiate themselves with the kids by offering chocolates, ordering gadgets or thrusting distractions upon them. The parents are so utterly caught up with their supposed busyness that they conveniently choose to click at a screen and satisfy the hunger, demands or inquisitiveness of their progeny. World-level issues are being dealt with at a frightening pace as well. No permanent solutions are in sight, but wars, standoffs, ceasefires, agreements, tweets and bombs are bandied about like nobody's business. The so-called leadership of certain nations clearly needs to think deeply before sinking ships or demolishing civilian facilities. But the art of rumination is a distant art in this era. Time has always been of the essence, but it truly seems to be in short supply these days. Everyone wants to accomplish goals, laudable or nefarious, as the case may be, in a time zone of yesterday. The calmness of yore, even the ponderous nature of happenings from the past, is clearly being missed by us today. Nature is never in any hurry though. Nature's children take their own time to grow, to glow, to flow. Artificial stupidity has perhaps become the downfall of natural progress. Processed food, microwave ovens, instant idlis and slam-bang affairs are the norm of the day. One wonders if there will ever again be a time of unhurried conversations and endless stargazing. The urge to seek instant gratification is also leading to relationship break-ups and impairments in the social firmament. The waiting game is all but a figment of history today. Patience is a virtue that almost denotes a chapter from days gone by. One wonders if anyone still reads tomes like 'War and Peace' or 'The Count of Monte Cristo'. Maybe PhD scholars and bookstore owners do! Yet, to put it optimistically, there are some definite ways for humanity to buck the trend and stem the tide. One of these ways has been tried out recently in countries like Australia which has banned social media for kids under the age of 16. And Sweden is reported to have announced the compulsory return of classroom teaching to the realm of printed books instead of digital learning. Yet, the levels of impulsiveness prevalent in society are not a factor of speedy AI-enabled devices alone. While it is facile to 'hook up' with someone and also dump someone, at the drop of a hat, it is the intent which matters. Society at large needs to go back to the drawing board and at least prepare Gen Alpha to be calmer than they are otherwise headed to be. The Gen Z denizens are perhaps already beyond repair. But not all of them. The youth themselves can pull the rug out from beneath these reckless trends by heeding their own common sense....