Breathing in Bodhi - Life Skills General Awareness Books for the children which helps them in developing their mind through thinking, social and emotional skills.

3. This case has taken from Life Skills
Theme Meant for Ages (11-13)
23
The Whatsapp
Effect…May be
Article
I am Addicted
Man has moved way ahead by climbing upon the
shoulders of technology. It is a technology-freak
world we are living in today. Everything needs to be done
at the blink of an eye, no one desires a sloth. With need for
faster pace, faster means of communication have significantly
and outrageously erupted like in a volcanic movement.
And with technological advancement, the social media has
also leaped many folds. Moreover with the availability of
technology under every palm, a new addiction has been
generated among masses craving for even faster travel. No
matter it has led to a faster channel for communication, but
it has also smeared some life-impairing conditions upon
the society.
Psychologists have found out that addiction is
compulsively driven behaviour with many negative
consequences. These days, the most common, crazed-after
and sought-after social communication service is the
Whatsapp. People today are really mad about texting over
the Whatsapp, as it’s totally free and has a great text-based
communication that underpins sharing of multimedia like
photos, videos, voice mails, mp3, et al. With an connection,
internet one can share things anywhere around the world.
The whatsapp status feature is so alluring that it creates a
familiar environment. For example, someone is always online
and always gives instant response, while someone was last
The Whatsapp Effect…May be I am Addicted 1

4. seen on some earlier date at a particular time, and someone’s
status cannot be seen because that person has blocked the
person willing to look at the status. These are some of the
instances which impact a lot on the psychological front of
the human brain. Even if one does not know the person
with whom he/she is chatting, yet this virtual interaction
may prove a greater peril than physical. If one wants to use
Whatsapp in an irrational way, it is a very dangerous tool
controlling the entire psychological system of the person.
It has been observed these days that people often tend
to get less gregarious with their surroundings. This solely
is because of the presence of a sea of obtainable social
networking services in the mobile phones, among which
the Whatsapp acquires the premier position in terms of
popularity and usage. We often notice these days during
some occasions or parties, people, especially youngsters
do prefer to comfort themselves more by reclining in a
corner and operating the cellphones, rather than talking
and exchanging wishes. The presence of whatsapp induces
a magnetic attraction so much so that it keeps the person
craving all the time until he has opened up and peeped
into his whatsapp page. While he tries to continue a chat
or to answer questions sent from the other end or for that
matter watches a video or images, most of his time goes
unproductive. This is because he would never engage
himself into real human conversation when he has, in his
hands, a virtual networking facility which caters to parallel
conversations, tracing locations of another person and
getting entertained in all ways possible.
When it comes to the matter of students, at an early
age, students are exposed to such technological abuse, their
yet-to-be-flourished faculties have greater tendencies of
differing from what is actually human. Students are very
much prone to inherit the lethal trait of narcissism with
2 Breathing in Bodhi

5. networks such as whatsapp at hands, as they frequently
click the so-called “selfies” to paste in the social networking
page so that people look into them and like or praise them.
In order to do this, they often spend a lot of time trying to
ornate themselves so that they look better in front of the
watching eyes. This can certainly create a hindrance in their
studies and other activities.
It has been observed most of the time people generally
manage to check their whatsapp one or the other time of the
day, be it when they wake up in the morning or at the bed
time. So one wonders whether people are actually suffering
from a kind of addiction to the social media or facing some
sort of a crisis in contemporary living. Whatsapp allows
its users to send unlimited videos, images, texts and audio
messages for free for a year. Subsequent to that, it charges a
meager 0.99$. It has been now for five years and has now a
user list counted to more than 500 million. It was founded
by two US citizens, viz., Brian Acton and Jan Koum, who
formerly were employees at the Yahoo office. Whatsapp
records a sharing of 700 million photos and over 100
million videos by its users throughout the world on a per
day basis.
The addiction towards whatsapp has been soaring
as more new users join the social networking platform
regularly. This cannot only be infectious for kids, but can
also be the reason of obstruction in serious and matured
relationships. To get rid of such addictions, one always has
the room of finding some hobbies or taking a ride or reading
some good books or for that purpose, may be watching a
good movie. So true, for there does not exists much chasm
between technology and slavery, only that the slaves remain
aware of their condition.
The Whatsapp Effect…May be I am Addicted 3

6. Directions (Qs. 1-10): Match the words with their
correct meanings.
1. Outrageous (A) Zooming
2. Smear (B) Excessive interest in oneself
3. Impair (C) Sociable
4. Underpin (D) Gap
5. Alluring (E) Support from below
6. Gregarious (F) Excessive in a bad sense
7. Sloth (G) To mark something
8. Narcissism (H) Fascinating
9. Soaring (I) Weaken or damage a function
10. Chasm (J) Laziness
Directions (Qs. 11-15): Choose the correct meaning for
the following phrases with reference to the context:
11. Climbing upon the shoulders
(a) To let a baby climb (b) With the help of
(c) Wrongly utilize (d) Use wrong means
12. The blink of an eye
(a) An eye disease (b) To shut one’s eyes
(c) Extremely quickly (d) Full of dust
4 Breathing in Bodhi

7. 13. To desire a sloth
(a) Want to be slow and clumsy
(b) Want a sloth bear
(c) Want a very large thing
(d) Want to be fast
14. Under every palm
(a) Astrology (b) Under a palm tree
(c) A palm top computer (d) Available to all
15. Much chasm exists
(a) A wide opening
(b) A correspondence or similarity
(c) Much gap exists
(d) Connection
Directions (Qs. 16-20): Answer the following questions
based on the information provided in the story.
16. Arrange the following in chronological order:
A. 500 million users of whatsapp.
B. Launch of android phones
C. Brian Acton and Jan Koum were employees of
Yahoo.
D. Launch of whatsapp.
(a) CDBA (b) CBDA
(c) CABD (d) CBAD
17. Match the following:
1. Virtual interaction (A) Whatsapp charge after a
year
2. Students (B) Photo sharing in a day
The Whatsapp Effect…May be I am Addicted 5

8. 3. 700 million (C) Dangerous than physical
4. 0.99$ (D) Technological abuse
(a) 1 – D, 2 – A, 3 – B, 4 – C
(b) 1 – C, 2 – D, 3 – B, 4 – A
(c) 1 – B, 2 – A, 3 – D, 4 – C
(d) 1 – C, 2 – D, 3 – B, 4 – A
18. Choose the incorrect statement:
(a) Whatsapp records a sharing of over 100 million
videos in a day.
(b) Once added as a friend in whatsapp, the person
cannot be blocked.
(c) Everyone is a potential addict of social media.
(d) The portability of whatsapp can affect taking of
different moral decisions among students.
19. Choose the correct statements from those given below:
A. Whatsapp is totally free for a year.
B. There are only limited numbers of networking
services available for android mobile phones.
C. Whatsapp is the most popular among all social
networking platforms on mobile phones.
D. Virtual conversations are similar to real
conversations.
(a) A and B (b) B and C
(c) A and D (d) A and C
20. Whatsapp allows its users to send unlimited
A. videos
B. images
C. texts and audio messages
(a) A and C (b) B and C
(c) A and B (d) A, B and C
6 Breathing in Bodhi

9. Directions (Qs. 21-25): Explore the answers in the
following questions.
21. List some of the growing competitors of Whatsapp in
today’s social media market.
22. A social networking site is ready to disappear on 30th
September 2014. Name the site and reasons for its
disappearance.
23. Addiction of anything is harmful. Give some of the
growing addiction that needs urgent curb among youth
in India.
24. Give two reasons for switching of Whatsapp from a
free service to a paid service.
25. Why is Whatsapp called a “Cold Media”?
Directions (Qs. 26-31): Give your opinion.
26. What is the reason behind the grand popularity of
Whatsapp as an instant messaging application?
27. Are there any benefits of Whatsapp? Who are the
people benefitted by this application?
28. How has Whatsapp addiction affected people, especially
students and kids today?
29. Describe the technological misuses in the contemporary
world. Is technology stealing away privacy in people’s
lives? How?
The Whatsapp Effect…May be I am Addicted 7

10. 30. Do you use Whatsapp? How do you make use of it?
Does it make an impact in your daily life?
31. Social Media plays a major role in opinion creation.
Discuss.
Answer Key
1. (F) 2. (G) 3. (I) 4. (E) 5. (H)
6. (C) 7. (J) 8. (B) 9. (A) 10. (D)
11. (b) 12. (c) 13. (a) 14. (d) 15. (c)
16. (b) 17. (d) 18. (b) 19. (d) 20. (d)
Explanatory Answers
21. Skype, Viber, Wickr and Hike are some of the
competitors.
22. Orkut. The reasons for its disappearance are numerous:
(a) Arrival of hate groups.
(b) Privacy issues
(c) Anti-India Campaign
23. (a) Smoking
(b) Drug
(c) Alcohol
(d) Cell Phones
(e) Social Networking
24. (a) For coping the high growth rate
(b) To earn profit as the primary cost was limited to
sending of a message.
25. A Cold media requires high participation in form
of sending and sharing from one person to another.
Whatsapp is one such example that can effectively work
only when there is an exchange between two sources.
This is the reason for it being called a “Cold Media”.
8 Breathing in Bodhi

11. Life Skills/ Beginners [Level-1]
Ages (11-13)
Articles focussed on Thinking Skills
1. Preamble - The Stepping
Stone to Democracy
2. Evolution of the Divine
Food-Chocolate
3. Monsoon: An Elixir for
Indian Economy
4. Coral Reef: Rainforest of the Ocean
5. Blackhole: Warping Space and Time
6. NASA
7. Go Green-Ecotourism
8. Crude Oil: Black Gold
9. The Spectacular Spider-Man
10. Malls: Shopper’s Paradise or Paradise Lost
Articles focussed on Social Skills
Ages
11-13
11. Elections in India-When the Voice Transforms into Votes
12. Old Delhi vs New Delhi....... ‘Dilli Meri Jaan’
13. Cybernation: A Threat or A Convivial to Employment
14. Shipping through the Suez Canal
15. Obesity – The Silent Killer
16. The Mother of All Cells–Stem Cells
17. Rain Water Harvesting – Make the Most of the Rain
18. National Food Security Bill
19. Mars Rover – Reporting from the Red Planet
20. Adventure Sports – Experience the Thrills and Spills
Articles focussed on Emotional Skills
21. India-Pakistan Kinship
22. Quit India Movement: A spark that Burst into Flames
23. The Whatsapp Effect…..Maybe I am Addicted
24. Computer Virus: Benign or Merely Annoying?
25. Changing Life with Internet
26. Play Stations- The extremities of gamers
27. Water Shortage in India
28. Airlander: The Wave of the Future
29. Hazing Art of Kathputli
30. Antarctica – An Exile to Mankind
The Whatsapp Effect…May be I am Addicted 9

12. Life Skills/ Avid Reader [Level-2]
Ages (11-13)
Articles focussed on Thinking Skills
1. Cold War – The Political Hostility
2. Ice Age – The Encounter with
Glacial Episodes
3. Building Better Global Economy:
BRICS
4. Benefits of SEZ
5. The Short Cut to America
6. Hydroelectricity – A Modern Necessity
7. ISRO – In the Service of Human Kind
8. Beading the Energy
9. The Gurukul and the Modern Modes of
Education – A Larger Dichotomy
10. White Goods
Articles focussed on Social Skills
Ages
11-13
11. Amazonia: The Unexplored Life
12. The Promise and Peril of India’s Youth Bulge
13. Lifeline to the Nation–Indian Railways
14. Touchdown of A380 to India
15. Fashion Trends
16. Holidaying to Moon
17. The Virtual World In Our Hand
18. The lost Treasure of the Developed Nations
19. Permanent Seat for India in UN Security Council – Yes or No
20. New Writers, Young Readers
Articles focussed on Emotional Skills
21. The Chinese Year of the Horse
22. Living with the Menace: Terrorism
23. Vivekananda’s Strategy for the Youths
24. Commercial Friends and Political Foes
25. Benaras— The City of Ghats
26. Malnutrition—The Yearning Childhood
27. Networking or Not Working
28. CNR Rao: The Seer of Science
29. The Thin Line of Wagah
30. Reality TV—Remaking of Television Culture
10 Breathing in Bodhi

13. Life Skills/ Experts [Level-3]
Ages (11-13)
Articles focussed on Thinking Skills
1. Immigration issues and reforms
2. There is a little bit of SAIL in
everybody’s life
3. BRICS BANK – Building economy
brick by brick
4. Sales is directly proportional to
advertisement
5. Las Vegas — Just the right amount
of wrong
6. Make in India — a dream or reality
7. Cloud Computing — Cloud 9 or
Creative Destruction
8. Bi-Party Vs Multiple Party
9. Burra Katha: A Folk Art form of
Story Telling
10. Insurance — The Business of
Caring & Conducting
Articles focussed on Social Skills
11. Government Subsidies — Special Political Privileges
12. Jan Dhan Yojna – A dream comes true
13. 100 years of Indian Cinema
14. Trust, Transparency, Tranquility —
Core Competencies of Human Resource Management
15. The Golden Quadrilateral –
The longest expressway India ever had
16. Is your doctor minting money?
17. Media: Investigates or Exaggerates?
18. Solution to Pollution: Yamuna Cleaning Project
19. Women in India- Kitchen to Cosmos
20. The power of words- History of Indian Publishing
Articles focussed on Emotional Skills
21. Telangana: Rising above the constitutional barriers
22. Proud not Primitive: Tribals shying away from
entering the mainstream
Ages
11-13
23. MGNREGA — Unproductive employment
24. Are you in good hands? Mobile Banking
25. Modern Age Agriculture — Giving riches to a nation
26. Don’t be mean behind the screen – Cyber Bullying
27. Erase your e-waste or Green is a dream
28. Building palaces from lowly logs: Dying Cottage Industries
29. South Asia – Peacemaking is your best bet!
30. Relief by Mother Nature- Naturopathy
The Whatsapp Effect…May be I am Addicted 11

14. Philosophy - Breathing in Bodhi
The paradigm shift in the field of education focuses on the development
of life skills, attitudes and values which are the 21st century skills. This
was the prime focus which made us divide this series into two themes-life
skills and attitudes and values.
Each theme strongly voices out in three levels - beginners, the avid
readers and the experts making it a six book series. Each book contains 30 fascinating
stories about people, places, events, ideas and issues.
Theme - Life Skills Theme - Attitude & Values
The stories are further based on Life Skills - 10
each on Thinking, Social and Emotional Skills.
The stories are further based on attitude and
values - 15 each on attitude and values.
Thinking Skills acquired by a person
makes him organize information,
solve problems, make decisions,
judge problems and be creative.
Attitude is how we respond
to a specific situation or
people. Nothing can stop the
man with the right mental
attitude from achieving his
goal. Similarly, nothing on
earth can help the man with
the wrong mental attitude.
Values are about how we
have learnt to think things
ought to be or people ought
to behave, especially in terms
of qualities such as honesty,
integrity and openness.
Social skills help a person to develop
capability to establish and negotiate
the complex relationship between
self and social environment.
Emotional skills guide thinking
and behavior. It powers you with
the ability to discriminate between
different emotions and how to deal
with the various emotions.
The books aim at enhancing the comprehension skills along with augmenting the general
awareness of children leading to the development of the life skills, attitude and values. The
books are an honest attempt to trigger the young minds to think, explore and relate to the
world around them.
It makes them think, comprehend and analyze. The articles given for the comprehension
purpose are actually in sync to the real world.
Each story has been elaborately discussed and is analyzed by the following tools
1. Wordsmith-aims at developing the vocabulary and contextual usage of words.
2. Finding the fact-aims at developing the comprehension skills
3. Extra inning-gives an opportunity to the reader to explore the extra information related
to the story.
4. Reality check-a platform to create opinions about the various issues related to the story.
Only when the reader is in a position to generate thoughts / opinions about a given
situation / issue then only he is in a position to provide a real solution model.
This series is a must have for children who not only want to build their communication
and leadership skills but also want to enroot an eye for comprehending, analyzing and
transforming their approach from problem finders towards becoming problem solvers
by reinforcing the power of a collaborating (partnering and sharing) and accommodating
approach (including people of all sections of the society).
In other words the children would become CONFIDENT & COMMITTED LEADERS who can
THINK & COMMUNICATE to SOLVE PROBLEMS with a COLLABORATIVE approach while
ACCOMMODATING all.
12 Breathing in Bodhi