It was 2019. Then, there was a pandemic. Quite a lot changed in the field of education. Classes and examinations went online. Parents had to provide each of their children with at least one device for this purpose. Thus it was a period when many children,(some in pre-teens), got phones in their hands. The pandemic is milder now, and children are back to school, but the phone remains. And it can be disastrous. With phones, comes the risk of too much social media. It is well known that it is not very healthy for young children or adults because it exposes one to multiple vices like obscenity, bullying, and identity faking. The bigger problem though is presented on a much more polished, and alluring platter.
There are tons of pages with millions of followers who are doing nothing but glorifying mediocrity in the name of providing psychological advice. Many such pages in their beautifully written posts urge the readers to be as they are, informing them they are the best. Even though, they are in a mess they themselves created. These pages are often run by people with no psychological knowledge, they are just good at marketing, and enjoy likes and shares in huge numbers. Nothing beats the momentary pleasure of false praise. It is this pleasure or to be precise the misery reduction which is the main product of such pages. And kids who spend 12 hours on phone, and are still clueless about why they are not doing great at anything in life, are their premium customers.
A kid feeling good at lies seems pretty harmless. What problem could there be?
First is not realizing one’s true potential and becoming complacent. Kids are finding an easy way out by giving up and all this appreciation makes them feel special being stuck in their mediocrity. This is delusional and dangerous.
Second is turning out to be negative individuals with nothing to offer to the society. Having thoughts that one is always good, even in self created crisis eliminates the remote chance of finding a fault in oneself. The problems and the pain of the individual still linger anyhow. With the self being declared infallible, the family, society, and, government form the list of accused.
The children of today need to buckle up, get their act straight. They should remember, that they may be good, but one can always be better.
