The Process of Self-discovery has Now Been Technologically Outsourced | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”  ― Mahatma Gandhi

Self-discovery is basically an internal process to explore one’s own thought process, ideas, rationality, values, compassion, opinions, etc. Self-discovery is a discovery of their own mind and soul. It is a learning process of how to transform yourself internally. We are discovering our own thoughts and ideas. To find his area of interest in school, a child must study a variety of subjects. As a man goes through life, he learns various strategies for handling a variety of circumstances. In order to learn from our own experiences and failures, we frequently request that people refrain from interfering in our lives. We need to break the barrier of our own thoughts and to make our mind free to explore and inculcate new dimensions of these ideas and experiences.

Self-reflection is a fundamental need for self-discovery since it enables the person to spend a substantial amount of time alone to self-realize his or her life and purpose. Self-reflection emerges proactively in solitude. People are flooded with concerns and will sacrifice everything else to find the answers. The question arises in mind and soul about life and its different aspects which a person is not able to find in this world. Then the person has only one option and that is self-discovery. Solitude is a prerequisite for self-reflection and self-discovery. Gautama Buddha left his kingdom at an early age to seek the reality of life, and he obtained enlightenment in the process. Sadhus are accustomed to meditating in order to find themselves.

In Indian culture, the concept of self-exploration is deeply embedded. Gandhi said that self-discovery is "experimenting with the truth. People may do the public good and eradicate harmful behaviors from society by engaging in self-discovery.

Technology now plays an important role in moulding our ideas and lifestyles. Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, OTT platforms have revolutionized every aspect of Human life. Technology is an indispensable part of human life. The process and consequences of self-discovery is highly impacted by technology. Technology now plays an important role in moulding our ideas and lifestyles. We don't need to go to considerable extents to acquire answers to our questions. We can look it up on the internet. Assume a youngster has a question about how he should behave during an interview and wants to learn the answer. Instead of studying ideas, he prefers to use the internet and perform a Google search. There is no question that technology has made life simpler because there is an abundance of knowledge and information available on the internet. There is a fine line between the internet being a blessing and an imprecation. However, the amount to which it is a blessing is determined by how we restrict its interference in our lives and progress. Information improves our lives, but the act of getting that knowledge is also crucial for human growth.

If we blend technology and traditional ways of learning, then the positive impact of the technology can be multiplied and adversity can be reduced. We must determine how to blend technology and traditional learning methods. Self-discovery is what we believe and how we regard ourselves are linked to the process of self-discovery. It focuses on the procedure which has altered in today's environment. We frequently encounter the features of virtual reality. We should restrict the self-discovery of ourselves via the eyes of others. We would create such a profile on social media to improve the likelihood of people liking and adoring us. We give too much priority to the opinion of others. We portray ourselves in the manner that others want to view us. We live our life under the influence of others. We interact with them in the manner in which they like. We undermine our self-opinion. What we think about ourselves doesn't matter to ourselves. This basically happens due to huge interference of technology in our life. It ruins the process of self-discovery in some way. Self-discovery is basically an internal process which explores us from inside. It shifts our focus from outward to inside. It makes us more aware of ourselves. We are aware of what we like and dislike. We should therefore direct our lives from being meaningless to meaningful. Self-discovery is basically an intent to enlighten us. Socrates has said that “The unexamined life is not worth living,” Self-knowledge is the essence of what makes us human, so it’s no surprise that we’ve looked for ways to better understand ourselves for as long as there have been humans.

Technology is enriching us by the virtue of lots of information. Self-discovery makes us more knowledgeable and aware about ourselves. We now have a wide variety of applications and methods for using technology to learn more about our psychology, personality and character. This issue has also been resolved by technology since all we need to do is respond to a question that is posed on a technological platform, and the application will then provide results that describe who we are as people, our personalities, etc. What needs to be seen, though, is how trustworthy it is and if we should rely only on it, forgoing our own efforts at self-discovery. We can tour the globe while sitting in a room thanks to social media and blogging platforms, but there are significant variations in quality between visiting the world outside the room and traveling the world on the internet while sitting inside the room. Employers are using online aptitude tests to assess employees' behavioral patterns. Technology has changed the social behavior of people. A combined family's ability to stay together is eroding. Technology has an impact on how people use and abandon social media sites, which is followed by the process of self-discovery.

Another critical element is the advancement of artificial intelligence. It may be called the self-discovery of the future. We shall employ artificial intelligence personal assistants in ways that our predecessors could never have envisaged.

Definitely the use of technology can ease our process of self-discovery. It seems obvious that using technology helps individuals in the discovery of happiness. A crucial and basic part of human growth and development is self-discovery. There is another side of the narrative that is harming the human self-discovery process as a whole since people are focused on the present moment and losing the substance of their lives. However, technological improvements, when viewed as a source of information rather than a source of reliance for conveniences, contribute to an enriching journey of self-discovery.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”  ― Aristotle