Motivational or self-help books, podcasts, and speeches often recommend spending more time on educational ventures and less on unproductive tasks or entertainment. They claim they know what we should and shouldn’t spend our time on. They have a perfect definition of what is education and how we can get it.

But what is really educational and what’s entertainment is subjective and differs from person to person. What someone views as entertainment can be educational for another and vice-versa. What you do, What you want to do in life, Who you are defines what is education and what is entertainment for you.

Moreover, education doesn’t come from reading books, watching documentaries, and listening to motivational speeches. Education can come from anywhere, by talking to your friends who know about the new fashion trends in the market, it can come from buying stuff, watching that dance show on the telly, or even playing video games.

The internet has become a great equalizer. People are putting up content about a million different things. Many times you have not even heard about those things. But it is helping millions of people.

A travel video for Japan is educational for someone planning a trip to Japan. How to make a great grilled cheese sandwich could be educational for a bachelor trying to survive in a new city. How are movies made (behind the scenes) could pique the interest of a youngster who wants to make a career in movie-making.

The question is what do you think is ‘Education’? It’s a very myopic view if you only consider learning that will take you ahead in your career or help you earn (more) money or speak like an erudite as education.

Being able to fend for yourself with no help around is education, how to be able to help others, differentiating between well-wishers from opportunistic is a great education, and understanding the human psyche and the kind of problems in the world by watching news and series on tv/Netflix is also a way of getting the education.

Children today learn things much faster through videos, online classes, and games. Faster than any teacher or school can educate them. Making mistakes and faltering is a way of learning too.

The traditional way of learning has changed, and the traditional education needs have changed too. Now we need education about online scams rather than the offline chit funds and Ponzi schemes of yesterday. And for that traditional education and ways of learning will not suffice.

There are innumerable educational needs and ways to learn that are now different. And some of those could be considered non-productive or ‘entertainment’ by some. But it’s up to the person receiving it. Often things considered as non-productive by parents end up giving the most benefits to children and helping them learn faster. Still, millions of parents don’t know that one can now make a career in social media.

And if we had succumbed to the myopic definition of ‘education’ of those gurus we would not have progressed as much. Anything can be education or entertainment and both could happen simultaneously too.