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The Information Influx and Notification Nuisance

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The accessibility in communication has blurred the lines between formal and informal forms of communication. With information available to us at our fingertips, there’s an expectation to be constantly online and updated. There’s no excuse to not do so since notifications buzzing around us. However, what is the cost of information influx?

Ping. You just put your phone down and were about to take a moment to yourself to break away from the constant influx of messages and notifications. However, you just heard the high-pitched sound that itches you increasingly until you can’t control yourself and finally give in to your urges. Before you know it, the muscle memory of your fingers swiftly types your passcode, and you have finally accessed WhatsApp. No worries, though, since it was just your friend reacting to your previous text. Since you have already made an effort to open WhatsApp, you might as well casually scroll through a few unread messages. There is, however, no such thing as casual on WhatsApp, and you are now obligated to reply to those messages because you might as well do it now.

Many of us are chronically online due to the demands of accessible communication. Even subconsciously, we constantly crave stimulation because we are accustomed to how conveniently we can access information. Getting updated is considered the bare minimum in keeping up with today’s globalised world. Notifications play an important role in ensuring you are on top of all your commitments and updates. In some ways, notifications ease communication for us because we don’t have to go the extra mile to get updated. WhatsApp groups are synonymous with a college notification board as they are the only way to get crucial updates on any developments in regard to your classes and societies. Notifications are a necessity to survive the fast-paced nature of college. However, just as easily, they can become an overwhelming source of anxiety.

There are several mechanisms to reduce the impact of notifications. For most of us, it is keeping our phones on silent mode and returning to our phones at our convenience. However, since our phones are perpetually glued to us, the silent mode feature is almost redundant in shielding us from our notifications. However, you may mute your notifications which prevents notifications from even appearing on your home screen. As most of us are acquainted with, blindly muting our notifications often has repercussions on our professional and personal lives.

Turning off all my notifications hardly ever works for me. I just feel like as college students we don’t really have the luxury of just muting all our notifications because the messages that we receive from college often require our immediate attention. Even when I choose to get back to messages at a convenient to me, I’m bombarded with over 50 messages from different groups and it creates even more stress because I have to go through all those messages to make sure I didn’t miss out on anything important,” a first-year student discussed.

The first come, first serve basis is how opportunities are grasped in WhatsApp groups. Even a 30-second delay in response can lead you to lose an opportunity. This is exactly where the pressure starts to arise with notifications. There’s an inherent need to constantly be available and be the first person to take hold of such opportunities. Although showing initiation may appear to be the bare minimum form of showing commitment, over time the constant influx of messages and notifications takes a toll on your ability to respond. The continuous notifications eventually cause lethargy and you lose track of keeping up with important developments.

“I remember the first day of college when all of a sudden I was added to so many groups and in those groups there were links to other groups. Official groups, unofficial groups, opportunity groups, and students of 2025/26 groups. It was so overwhelming trying to keep up with all of it because you are new to college and you are already stressed enough and you don’t want to miss out on important updates. I remember I joined a group a few hours later, and the entire CR elections had already been conducted and I had absolutely no clue about it,” a first-year student observed.

In the interest of professional commitments, somehow personal commitments take a back seat. In the wake of keeping up with emails and WhatsApp messages, answering texts from your friends and family may seem trivial. Due to this, your personal relationships suffer as you may not actively contribute towards staying in touch due to the lethargy that accompanies meeting your professional updates.

I have all my groups from college pinned. Since there are over 25 of them, I hardly even see messages from my friends because there is always something going on in my college groups. And they are very important and if I don’t get back to them in a few hours, I’m usually tagged. It becomes so draining trying to keep up with all this that I just completely forget that I haven’t even replied to my friend who texted me 2 days ago” lamented a student.

The urgency that accompanies notifications often is fueled by an intrinsic need to be available and immediately deal with the issue. Over time, just the mere sound of a notification can cause a wave of anxiety due to the urgency it creates. They can also be very overwhelming especially when the group chats are spammed with messages that compel you to answer them immediately. In the process, you start disassociating yourself from your surroundings and remain stuck with the updates and commitments. Due to the accessibility of your presence, answering texts carve away your relaxation time and blur the boundaries between your priorities.

Especially with utilizing multiple devices, we are even more charged with notifications. Our laptops, phones, iPads and Tablets are constantly buzzing with notifications from all sorts of social media applications. Although disconnecting from the chaos of our devices is intimidating, protecting our mental peace is much more crucial. Sometimes we may miss catching up on our emails and texts but instead of feeling guilty about it, we need to assert boundaries and compartmentalize our priorities to preserve our sanity and peace.

Image Credits: Macworld

Read Also: https://dubeat.com/2017/09/30/in-the-age-of-phone-fare/

Sri Sidhvi Dindi

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Arts & Culture

Toxic Culture of DU Societies: Seniors with Junior Mindsets

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Any talk about Delhi University is incomplete without a mention of its extravagant societies. But, is the extra pressure which comes up with the really stiff competition actually worth it?

The fun and frolic which comes up with the joining of a cultural group, or the engagement in the big brain talks by being part of an academic community, indeed contributes in adding up to ones college memories. But, continuing with this on the stake of ones mental health is not correct. The excessive competition and the pressure of having the first position in the entire DU circuit, sometimes makes the loved society culture extremely toxic. The daily seven to eight hour practices irrespective of rain and hail along with the flawed senior junior culture leaves many students shattered and face serious existential crisis.

Most of the times first years seeing the beautifully decorated registration desk apply in numerous societies but, the actual marathon begins only after you clear the auditions and officially become a part of it. The superiority of seniors and the inferiority of juniors the entitlement of only one and two years older mates as ‘Didis’ and ‘Bhaiyas’ often causes a complete reversal of ones opinions and thoughts. The mass scolding sessions, or rather the wordly mass assassination of juniors by the supremely talented Didis and Bhaiyas leaves one with tears, an outcome of supressed speech and anger.

“I joined the western dance society of my college with high expectations. I thought that it will help me live my passion but, it turned out to be completely opposite. All the dancers were great and the joining opened doors to many opportunities for me but, the super strict environment which makes one to think twice about doing and saying anything made me leave it in the very next month. People need to understand that maintaining a Hitler inspired environment wont help in the sustenance of art,” said a first year student of Delhi University.

“There is literally no junior who hasn’t cried. Once we went for lunch after a competition and all of us ordered according to our budgets assuming everyone was to pay for their own meal. The seniors enjoyed quite a lot and ordered double and triple of what we had, we obviously didn’t think much of it since everybody ate according to their pockets but with the arrival of bill they changed the protocol and forced us to go dutch. They divided the entire amount equally, irrespective the quantity each person ordered. This was shocking for me since I hadn’t seen anything so unfair till then. This society politics is very difficult to deal with,” said another first year.

However not all are alike. Some of them have very positive impacts on ones development and growth. It completely depends upon the management and environment. So, its imperative for one to think and choose wisely. Pursuing anything which has a toll on mental health would leave you with nothing but only distress and regret. Leaving after joining with a reason “I don’t feel good” is a reason enough for you to resign.
Featured Image Credits: Du Beat Archives

Kriti Gupta

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Second-Year Students of SSCBS Win Big At Global Case Competition at Harvard

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In a monumental win for India and Delhi University (DU), students of Shaheed Sukhdev Colllege of Business Studies (SSCBS) were declared winners at the Global Case Competition, Harvard University 2020.

Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS) brought laurels to Delhi University (DU) as well as the nation. In the first-ever win for India of this kind, SSCBS bagged the first position representing India at the Global Case Competition at Harvard University (GCCH) 2020. Competing with over 140 teams from universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, John Hopkins University, HEC Paris and London Business School. 

Prize money of 10,000 USD was awarded to the winning team. Mr Olivier Levyne, Managing Director, CACIB announced the glorious win to the team comprising of 2nd-year students from  SSCBS- Sparsh Sehgal, Ojas Jhamb, Kunal Vats, Raghav Nath and Aanand Negi. They were mentored under the able guidance of the faculty members Mr Neeraj Sehrawat and Mr Amit Kumar.

Image Credits: Press Release, SSCBS
Image Credits: Press Release, SSCBS

Kunal Vats spoke to DU Beat, “I hope this win sets a precedent of Indian teams winning big at the global stage and inspires many business students to work towards their dreams,” The team members expressed their delight too, “It has been a dream come true for us! Winning it has been surreal. Competing against and beating the top universities from around the world will always have a special place in our lives. We’re happy that our hard work and quality of work was rewarded. This edition was online as compared to the other rounds held at Harvard, and we were able to adapt to the new format effectively. We’re really glad that this competition happened despite the ongoing pandemic!” 

Congratulating the winners, Dr Poonam Verma, Principal, SSCBS says, “It was a great opportunity for our students to learn and interact with other international students. I am glad that our students are achieving international laurels and bringing positive news especially during such times,”

The GCCH is organized by the IFSA Network and Harvard GSAS Business Club. One of the most prestigious case competitions, it attracts the brightest economists, business-minds and finance-enthusiasts from around the world. With a mere three weeks in hand, students compete on a finance case involving strategic management, eventually, culminating at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Due to the pandemic, the event was organised through an online mode. School of Business and Economics, Brazil and John Hopkins University were declared the first and second runner-up, respectively. 

Feature Image Credits: Official Website, SSCBS

Anandi Sen

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Campus Central

15th National Climbing Competition at St. Stephen’s College

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The Hiking Club, St. Stephen’s College organised its 15th National Climbing Competition, from 31st January to 2nd February 2020. The event was a ravishing success with participation in varied categories like lead and speed climbing, between various age groups.

The Adventure Club of St. Stephen’s College, called The Hiking Club, organised its 15th National Climbing Competition. The event commenced on 31stJanuary and went on to 2ndFebruary 2020.  The event was incentivised with prizes worth Rs. 60,000, making the gymnasium of the college echo with loud cheers and hoots.

The National Climbing Competition is an annual event, which awards the player who can climb the set distance in the shortest time. This year’s edition of the Annual Competition was adjudged by Mr Rohit Solanki and Mr Chandan Kumar.

Participants from all over Delhi put on their competitive shoes while eyeing the prizes up for grabs. All participants were full of enthusiasm and eagerly waited for their turns. The results of the competitions were announced on 1stFebruary and 2ndFebruary, and they are:

In the ‘Under 16 Boys Speed’ category, Sachin Saroj bagged the first position, Manujee in the second position and Kabir won the third position.

In the ‘Under 16 Girls Speed’ category, Arshpreet Kaur emerged as the winner, and Simran Kaur and Nandini Dhir came second and third respectively.

For the ‘Open Women Speed’ category, Shivpreet Pannu got the first place, Shivani Charak and Siya Negi, emerging at the second and third place, repectively.

For the ‘Open Men Speed’, Inder Singh was declared the winner, and Bhuvnesh won the second place, while Sarvan bagged the third place.

For the ‘Under 16 Boys Lead’ category, Sachin Saroj again bagged the first place. Manujee and Vansh Bhardwaj bagged the second and third position respectively.

For the ‘Under 16 Girls Lead’ Category, Arshpreet Kaur won the first place, and Nandini Dhir came second, followed by Simran Kaur at the third place.

In the ‘Open Men Lead’ category, Sachin Saroj emerged as the winner, followed by Abhishek Mehta in the second position and Inder Singh in the third place. In the ‘Open Women Lead’ category, Shivpreet Pannu bagged the first place, followed by Shivani Charak and Siya Negi at the second and third positions.

 

Feature image credits- Gyanarjun Saroj for DU Beat

Suhani Malhotra

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Arts & Culture

PARASHARA Closes Day-1 of Tempest 2019

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Here is a recap of Day 1 at Tempest 2019, the annual cultural festival of Miranda House.

Tempest 2019- the Annual Cultural Fest of Miranda House- University of Delhi kick-started on 14th February 2019. There were a plethora of events scheduled by the college but most of them got delayed due to unfavourable weather conditions. Nevertheless, the events ran smoothly and the first day of Tempest turned out to be a fulfilling and vibrant experience for the attendees.

The Annual Rachita Das Gupta Quiz was organized by the Quiz Society of Miranda House. They conducted three quizzes on Day 1. The Open General Quiz saw participation of 30 teams with 2 members in each team. Mukund and Dhruv bagged the first position, while Rorik and Rohan came second, and Basab and Amlan stood third. Eco Biz Filler witnessed Kirti and Pragati win the competition. In the Open India Quiz, Ashish and Abhishek Paliwal came first while the duos of Jayant and Amlan, and Ankur and Kartik Puri stood second and third, respectively.

Vaatavaran, the Eco Club of Miranda House organised Enviro Quiz, a short-film-based quiz. It saw participation from 20 teams from across different colleges. The first prize was awarded to Poornima and Yash, while Karishma and Garima, and Pragati and Niharika bagged the second and third prizes, respectively.

E-Cell, Miranda House, organised three Inter-College events at Tempest 2019. Combination- an event related to geographical locations of companies, saw participation of 20 teams with two students in each team. Addictive- a marketing competition of pitching products in the style of Bollywood, was won by Ashok, while Pinku came second. Boss Hunt- a Treasure Hunt had 35 teams compete, where Aditya Sah came first, while Neeruganti Purnima came second.

11 Dance Societies from across different colleges, which qualified the online preliminaries, performed at Burlesque, the Western Dance Competition, organised by Tanz, the Western Dance Society of Miranda House. The event was judged by Mrs. Sameeksha and Mr. Nitin Theo Kerketta. Enliven (Western dance society of Gargi) won the competition, while Crunk (Western dance society of Sri Aurobindo) came second.

The next event was the Hindi Debating Competition where the students battled their wits on the topic- “Sadan ke math mein loktantra maatr ek saashan pranali nahi, jeevan mulyo ka srot hai (In the opinion of the House, democracy is not only a regime conduct, but it is the source of life values).” It was judged internally by teachers- Mrs. Kusuma Krishna Subha and Mrs. Meeta Kumari. Smriti from Lady Shri Ram College was awarded the title of Best Speaker in favour of the motion while Happy from Ramjas College was awarded as Best Speaker in opposition.

Amid the melody of raag Darbari and Yaman, Sangam- the Indian Classical Music Competition- organised by Geetanjali, the Indian Music Society of Miranda House saw various performances that had the audiences captivated. With 14 participants in the Duet Singing Competition and 13 teams representing their colleges in the Choir Singing Competition, the event was a huge success. The Duet Singing Competition concluded with SGTB Khalsa College’s Sukriti and Saksham bagging the second prize, with the winner’s title being claimed by Hansraj College’s Pranava and Ram.

Adwitiya, the Fine Arts’ Society, in a stunning display of powerful art, transformed SAC to an exquisite art gallery. From portraits to abstract brushstrokes, all the artwork presented had a story to tell. An art-piece labeled ‘Nirvana’ captured the modern world in a representative manner. A symbolic display promised and delivered aesthetic pleasure.

The day concluded with the performance by PARASHARA- a popular Delhi-based progressive band, with an idea conceived and brought to action in the mountains. The audiences swiveled to the beats as they played their melodies, revolving around the realities of life, with an interesting modern touch to it. This wraps up the Day 1 of the fest and all the festivities stuck true to the theme of the fest: “Future of Fun”.

Image credits: Mahi Panchal for DU Beat

 

Sakshi Arora

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Shaurya Thapa

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Kartik Chauhan

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Shivani Dadhwal

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DUB Speak

Competition, a threat to learning

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The sense of competition is a poison instilled in our minds so fiercely that we seem to lose touch with the concept of analysing our personal progress. Ever since we started working hard for achieving anything, be it grades, prizes or anything, we are constantly reminded of how much someone else is getting as compared to us. When I was a kid, I first had my personal objection on the column of “highest marks obtained” in our report cards. The only question that kept nagging was why and how can I compare my improvement by a standard set up by someone else? We are always told to score the best, do our best. What we seem to overlook is the very sense of our honest hard work and the result that presents us our calibre.

 

Every semester, the same story does it rounds. We give our exams and wait for the results and then as soon as we get them, the first thing everyone looks up for is the highest marks scored and by whom. I wonder why people can not compare their progress by what they got in the previous semester. Every time, it is the same old thing. You do your best, get the result and then compare it with others and insult yourself for being yourself. In this world of competitions, it is suffocating to be happy and satisfied with what you get. It’s not only our parents or teachers who are concerned with the highest or lowest, but even us. It’s a mandatory ritual that is followed. Those who scored less are bashed up and insulted. Sadly no one ever bothers to even scrutinize the insides but just the papers. Meanwhile the ones who really do score well get a chance to feed their ego.

 

It is said to not compare, for if you do, you are only insulting yourself. But there comes a point when you feel insulted and pathetic when over your batch group people start discussing someone else’s result; the one that scored the highest last time and how it has deteriorated this time. It’s derogatory especially when that someone else is a part of the group. It is not only rude and stupid but indeed a pathetic act. Comparisons and competitions have the ability of making a person feel dissatisfied and incapable of everything they could do or have done. Due to this constant reminder of competition and the ever lasting impression of beating others, most of us have assumed education as a system of mugging up and pouring it out on sheets than actual learning and understanding. Our generation is so heavily influenced by the standards others have set up for them that they overlook their personal development and start rushing for the undesirable. Most of the students fall prey to acts of dishonesty and cheating. Carrying chits or looking up to your partner for answers is the very evidence of how much we have lost the correct sense of education. Indeed, competition and the want of being the highest scorer are blunting the edge of learning. Marks only present to you what you could do in three hours. Life and educations is not limited to three hours.

 

From primary school to the life in college, this poison seems to be an inevitable enemy to me. This idea of highest scorer and being a topper seems absurd to me. It’s hard to find people who actually learn and understand. This poison constantly controls and limits the growth, development and progress of a person. We all have heavily compromised on our broad scope of growth just to focus on reaching the column of “highest marks scored”. Every student these days need to understand the importance of improvement, personal growth, and development. Marks have narrowed down our capabilities and the broad frame of possibilities. This needs to be replaced and understood. Marks are a way of analysing a person’s personal growth and not a race to be won or lost.

 

Guest post by Afeefa Nishaat

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Wordspill: A creative writing competition

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poster1

Theme: Ecstasy

Rules: Open to all students of Delhi University

Writing style: Does not adhere to a particular format. Short stories, prose fiction, flash fiction and poetry will be welcome.

No word limit : cramping creativity is not our style. So let the creative juices flow and flow quickly as the last date of entry is the 28th of August.

Entries are to be sent to [email protected]

Results will be declared on the 16th of September. A non DU Beat person shall judge the competition.

Prizes: Winning entries will be published in the 16th September issue of DU Beat.

The winner gets an internship with 9.9 media along with a 2 night retreat package in Ranikhet.

The first runner up , gets a 2 night retreat package in Ranikhet

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