Soumayan Biswas captured a striking image of 12-year-old Sabana lying beside a tangle of fishing nets in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, completely absorbed in her phone. The photograph, titled 'Borrowed Gaze,' was taken on an iPhone 15 and reflects the growing tension between the physical world and digital screens in children's lives.
Finding the Story
Biswas, who lives near the village pond where the photo was taken, was searching for 'stories' on a cloudy, windless afternoon. He noticed Sabana, a student he had never met before, lying near the nets and deeply engaged with her phone. The mask-like pose, featuring an eye image on her face, was Sabana's own idea. Biswas says he does not know the origin of the eye image, whether she created it, downloaded it, or found it online.
Visual Duality
The photographer was more interested in how the pose created 'a visual relationship between the child and the digital screen.' One of Sabana's hands is painted with nail polish, the other bare—a small asymmetry that mirrors the duality of the physical world and the one in which she is immersed. Biswas emphasizes that the photograph is not a statement about Sabana being 'addicted' to her phone, but rather a broader observation about children and technology.
Impact on Children
'Knowingly or otherwise, mobile phones have created a different world in the lives of children – it is very difficult for them to avoid that temptation,' Biswas said. The image serves as a poignant reminder of the challenges children face in balancing digital engagement with the real world, especially in rural areas where traditional activities like fishing coexist with modern technology.
