Language has always been the strongest marker of identity. Traditionally, a child’s mother tongue was the language spoken at home by parents and elders. However, in the modern digital age, this natural process is rapidly changing. A new phenomenon is emerging — the “phone tongue.”
Today’s children are growing up surrounded by screens. As a result, many children are learning and adopting the language of digital media rather than their inherited mother tongue. The phone does not just entertain; it educates, influences pronunciation, builds vocabulary and even shapes thinking patterns.
This change carries both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, children become multilingual and globally connected. On the other hand, local languages face the risk of decline if they are not actively preserved at home and in society. The responsibility now lies with parents, educators and content creators to ensure that digital spaces also support and promote native languages, so tradition and technology can grow together rather than apart.
Aamir Khan Wagan
Larkana
