“Don’t Be the Uncle Who Laughed at Instagram”
(The AI revolution is real. Don’t dismiss it like social media.)
You remember when social media first started becoming big?
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube…
There was a time when people — especially elders — used to laugh at it.
“Bas phone mein ghuse rehte hain ye naye bacche,”
“Isme kya future hai? Ye bhi koi kaam hai?”
Many parents used to say:
“Look at Sharma ji’s son — he’s studying engineering.”
And at the same time, they were angry at their own son who was posting reels or gaming online.
But what happened later?
That same “nalayak” boy is now earning through YouTube.
That gamer who was always on PUBG is winning lakhs in competitions.
That girl who was making fashion videos is now working with brands.
And the same uncles who laughed at “Instagram kids”…
…started asking their own children:
“Beta, tum bhi kuch try karo online?”
But by then, it was too late.
The early ones had already taken the seats.
Now, AI Is Doing the Same Thing
This time, the shift is even bigger.
And it’s not about dance reels or viral memes.
It’s about intelligence. Learning. Future-readiness.
AI — like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude — is not some techy craze.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime shift, just like the internet, just like smartphones, just like social media.
But again, what are people saying?
“Oh, AI is not for me.”
“I’m not a tech person.”
“I just want to speak English. I don’t want to deal with this AI stuff.”
That’s exactly what people said about YouTube and Instagram in 2013.
And look where that mindset got them.
Especially for Indians, Especially in Education
We come from a system where everything was rote learning. Notes. Teachers. Board exams.
We were not trained to learn independently.But now AI is giving us a second chance.
With tools like ChatGPT, a learner from a small town who never went to an English medium school can:
1. Practise daily with zero judgment
2. Learn grammar, vocabulary, fluency in real time
3. Get 1:1 conversation feedback without paying 10k per month
4. Become independent, not dependent on expensive classes
This is a moment of equalisation.
And if you ignore it now, tomorrow you’ll regret it the way many people regretted ignoring social media.
So I’m Saying This as Your Mentor, Not Just a Coach:
Don’t be the person who mocked Instagram.
Don’t be the person who said “AI is not for us.”
Be the person who says:
“I will not shy away from new technology. I will explore and adapt. I am not lake water. I am river water. I create my path.”
Even if you don’t understand the full thing now, start.
Explore. Play. Ask AI questions. Practise English with it.
Get comfortable.
