This ''Depressing'' Cartoon Made Anand Mahindra Put Down His Phone

Industrialist Anand Mahindra never ceases to amaze us with his social media posts. The Twitter handle of the Mahindra Group Chairman is full of inspiring and witty tweets, along with important life lessons for his 10 million followers. This time, the Mahindra Group chairman talked about a crucial issue that ails almost all of us- smartphone addiction. In his latest tweet, Mr. Mahindra shared a rather gloomy cartoon, showing elderly people in a nursing home in a post-texting world. Calling the cartoon ''depressing'', the businessman noted that the same made him keep his phone aside. 

"That's a seriously depressing cartoon. But it's made me decide to put down the phone (after tweeting this!) and ensure that my Sunday is spent with my neck straight and my head up...," said Mr. Mahindra in his tweet. "Nursing home in a post-texting world," read the title of the cartoon. 

See the tweet here:

That's a seriously depressing cartoon. But it's made me decide to put down the phone (after tweeting this!) and ensure that my Sunday is spent with my neck straight and my head up… pic.twitter.com/seEdiAhQAC

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) November 27, 2022

The cartoon attributed to Bizarro Comics, created in 2012, shows elderly people in a hunched position, with their necks bent as if they were looking at their mobile phones. Meanwhile, they can also be seen with both their hands held up as if they are holding a phone. The alarming photo is meant to display the side effects of always looking into one's phone, which can cause physical deformities in the long run. 

The thought-provoking post resonated with a lot of social media users, who confessed that they are going through the same kind of addiction. One user said, "Sir , Harsh reality. I am seeing patients daily with neck spasm and headaches because of looking down to text or watch videos. It has become worse since the Covid time lockdown. It's time we ration our screen time. Agree with you fully.''  

Another commented, "if you have observed the cartoon keenly, this was drawn 10years ago predicting the future(the present situation). I hope we all humans use less of phones and more of direct talks with family and friends for a stress free and healthy life.'' 

A third noted, "Digital and phone detox is becoming necessity. Without phone life is more beautiful.'' A fourth talked about the irony of it all. He said, "Sir you used your phone to comment on this picture and it eventually made me pick up my phone comment. This is why it has become a  never ending process.'' 

Smartphone addiction often referred to as 'nomophobia' is used to describe a psychological condition when people have a fear of being detached from mobile phone connectivity.