Article : The Indoor Generation

The Indoor Generation

If I ask you that, “Can you spend average 40% of your time outdoor?”, many of you will say “MAY BE!” or “NOT!”. But if this question is changed a little that, “Can you spend average 90% of your time indoor?”, the answer may change to “YES!”.

The above is a truth, our generation spends almost 90% of their time indoor. And why not? We’ve filled our homes with all the luxurious items. Actually, now our houses are the places which we don’t want to leave. This all had started when we began to accumulate things to our comfort. We like to live in sky, away from nature; but the fact is, neither we want to see the sky nor the land. Rabindranath Tagore, in one his verse wrote that,'The child who is decked with prince's robes and who has jewelled chains round his neck loses all pleasure in his play; his dress hampers him at every step.In fear that it may be frayed, or stained with dust he keeps himself from the world, and is afraid even to move.Mother, it is no gain, thy bondage of finery, if it keep one shut off from the healthful dust of the earth, if it rob one of the right of entrance to the great fair of common human life'. If we want to see something, then it is luxury, luxury & luxury. We’ve built our homes in such a way that neither something can come inside, nor can go outside. We now not only cook, bathe & sleep in our homes, but also play, exercise & do all the things indoor. The children either can’t go outside to play due to pollution, or doesn’t want to. Through researches it has been found that, kids’ rooms have the highest concentration of toxicants in a house. Earlier we used to go outside for running, jogging, cycling, etc. but now they are also done indoor. Being inside for most of the time results in many skin disorders, like anhidrosis, ross syndrome, etc.,  due to the absence of sweat. These disorders get eliminated when we sweat. But how to sweat by living indoor in air conditioned rooms?

When we didn’t allowed carbon dioxide released by us during respiration to go outside, the air inside became polluted and dangerous. This can be compared to the situation that a child was trapped in an A.C. car & died there. It has been investigated that the air inside most of the houses is five times more polluted than that outside. This air also gave foul smell sometimes. In order to fix it, we used chemicals, deodorants & room fresheners.

We’ve fitted our homes with artificial lights, that have replaced natural daylight, the sunlight. It’s said that lack of sunlight not only causes deficiency of Vitamin D, but also affects the learning capacity of a child, increases blood pressure & thin, brittle & misshapen bones. Till date, actually, no such happy lamp had been made that can overcome the darkness of sadness, which nature can do.

Most houses today, are unfit and dangerous to live in. The damp, mouldy houses increase the risk of Asthma by 40%. Now it’s upto you, would you like to go back to the way in which our parents and grandparents lived or do you want to pass on this same way of living to your coming generation.

~Advika Sahai