In: Operations Management
"The Veldt" is a science fiction short story by American author Ray Bradbury.
In the story, a mother and father struggle with their technogically advanced home taking over their role as parents, and their children becoming uncooperative as a result of their lack of discipline.
The Hadley family lives in an automated house called "The Happylife Home", filled with machines that aid them in completing everyday tasks, such as tying their shoes, bathing themselves, or even cooking their food. The two children, Peter and. Wendy, become fascinated with the "nursery", a virtual reality room able to produce any place they imagine.
The parents, George and Lydia, begin to wonder if there is something wrong with their way of life. Lydia tells George, that's just it. I feel like I don't belong here. The house is wife and mother now, and nursemaid. Can I compete with an African veldt? Can I give a bath and scrub the children as efficiently or quickly as the automatic scrub bath can? I cannot. They are also perplexed and confused that the nursery is stuck on an African setting, with lions in the distance, eating an unidentifiable animal carrcass. There they also find recreaions of their personal belongings and hear strangely familiar screams. Wondering why their children are so concerned with this scene of death, they decide to call a psychologist.
The psychologist, David McClean, suggests they turned off the house, move to the country, and learn go be more self sufficient.
Whom to blame for what happens at the end of the story, the parent or children or both ?
Children look up-to parents for directions in there lives. Parents are responsible for the environment children are brought up. With the advancement in technology, no doubt life has become easier and faster. But is it helping us to develop our skills as human beings, No. Human beings are getting used to the comfort technology brings in there lives.
In "The Veldt" living in an automated house called The Haopylife Home, life is good because the machines are completing everyday tasks at home. But the threat here is that the children will think this is life because that is what we are showing them.
As parents, our responsibility is to make children self sufficient and then can show them the benefits of technology in today's world.
Conclusion : Life is a teacher and life teaches with exposure to things. Before human beings uses the comfort of technology, they should become self sufficient to realise the value of comfort the technology brings in their lives. In the story children can not be blamed because they were born in the comfort of technology. Parents need to take responsibility for the children's lifestyle and try to make them self sufficient.