Teenagers Opinion ” Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it”.
Universal Parental Opinion: Our children lives are tougher today. The zones they are living in are much more complicated than those simple days of our growing up life. Internet , loads of exposure to lives of others, peer pressure, materialistic attitudes etc etc. Also the general unrest in the world , conflicts between countries and different sects , terrorism, intolerance for other people’s beliefs, religions, sentiments, ideology and so so many varied influences. Thousands of news and TV channels, apps, portals, information sources …some genuine …some fake, zillion options for everything….one click snap decisions etc etc. Not to forget the Social Media frenzies …..Facebook, Instagram , what’s app, snapchats have all made our world smaller , more cohesive and connected …and that is good , very good . But what’s it brought with it is people getting a chance to peep into others people’s lives…a look into neighbours and friends homes and a overzealous interest in things beyond their own spheres.
Life lived through filters, smart phone lenses, selfies, posts and updates seems like a pretty dangerous made up…pretend world to our generation. While I am a worried parent…..like so many others parents of our generation ……scared for our children losing their innocence a little too soon.I am not sure if it’s the exposure, the Internet, the smart phones or the new generation to be blamed. We were not born in the computer age and are the ones who are finding it harder to handle these mediums.It’s us who are misusing it ….getting affected the most ….finding it distracting because we come from a time where words like online friends , click of a button weren’t part of our dictionaries. These gadgets and social media platforms are new toys in our hands and we are going crazy. Some of us have learned to not take anything and everything on social media as gospel truth , are more discerning in our choice of what we do with it, use it to find old long lost connections and keep our time fruitfully engaged by staying away from envy and judgements. But some of us have fallen prey and are living pretentious lives, a life stunted by the ease of having a view of what others are doing, how others are living and making comparisons.
My Opinion : It’s our problem! Sadly …I hate to admit that the intolerance for other people’s opinions, beliefs, religious and political views and the fixed mindsets problem is more of our generation’s problem. We don’t see young people tweeting stupid things, or sharing their life stories on Facebook,worrying who is eating what, wearing what and doing what or getting into what’s app family group or friends group fights.As a parent of teenage kids,I have had many opportunities to watch closely …my kids and their friends and lots of other teenagers out there in my circle and they seem to be much more sorted than what we all give them credit. They had their phase of doing some stupid things ..yes..over sharing of their lives ….but a lot of it is finished and done with. They are off the Facebook , they never tweet to sensationalise, their Instagram stories are creative and fun , their snapchats …I don’t know …but are maybe ok because I haven’t seen them having emotional road blocks over social media or seem to have feelings of envy and distress over other people’s livesor have insecurities like …everybody is happier than me….or I am the best ….look at my illustrious life …everyone is travelling the world , have awesome families but me etc etc …kind of heartaches that what we adults have had in our share post the advent of Internet and Facebook.
The new generation is so much more sorted than us in terms of where they want to go …they have confidence of having the courage to work for what they want from life. They are smart , quick and can use GPS , google maps , Wikipedia and all kinds of technology much better than us. They don’t need to be directed …instead we are dependent on their directions which in turn is helping us navigate through this new world. They know where to find answers from and have the right key words and the right questions to manoeuvre their way through anything. They are the empowered ones !
Why are we then worried for them? ….instead we should worry about us and help ourselves …to make peace with the idea that this is the new world …which has information available on one click …where everything is out there and in our children’s reach. And there is nothing that we can do about that but use it to our advantage.Live our lives more creatively and happily and enjoy the fact that we got a chance to see this change right in front of our eyes. Be role models for our children ….role models of people who are smart to see the pros of the dynamic new world and make the most of our time left on the earth…thanks to new amazing new options…learning more and doing more meaningful things with our lives. And our children seeing us making the right use of the information overload and make better decisions about online safety, privacy and using the power of Internet and social media to make a difference in this world!
Even if the times aren’t simple anymore …our children are not complexed and are not disadvantaged..rather they are much better equipped and empowered to live their lives to the fullest!
SAAKSHI SINGLA 