When there is so much to say, and so much to do, a few words a week will never suffice. Especially when we are talking about the future of our country. Each one of those hormone riddled teens, we love so much to complain about are going to take up roles… important roles… in the future governance and running of our country and it is our responsibility to undo our wrongs and emphasise our rights to help. Last week we touched on a few emerging trends that could put our adolescents in danger. This week we will continue and also try to come up with a few solutions to the looming dangers we anticipate. As is fact, prevention is any day better than cure.
We spoke briefly of the dangers social media poses and tried to figure out how our ignorance of these new apps etc. could lead them down more dangerous paths. It is imperative to reflect on everything they are exposed to before we say things like ‘we all went through that’, ‘it was an experience’. Our experiences were much different. Safer even. What they have to go through is a whole new ball game. This new game they are all playing called ‘Pokemon go’ has them walking around speaking to strangers searching for more pokemons. We were always told to be careful around strangers when we were young. Now, with strangers welcomed into our homes everyday through social media, we are in a whole new league of danger. What lies behind a screen is anyone’s guess. Some reports have even shown how youngsters and even we, sometimes, are tricked by people pretending to be someone else.
Young minds are shaped by their experiences. It is our duty to give them good ones to learn from. We tend to ignore certain facts of life. In this crazy race called life we zoom past crucial points in the lives of our children. One day they are little babies and before you know it adolescence hits. Being aware of every aspect of this life stage is our duty as adults and more so, the changing trends that go with it. The whole world has changed and developed but we live in the notion that this stage has remained the same. We think that after all these years the dangers too have remained static. Well sadly they haven’t. Things have changed. Things like drugs and alcohol have become more easily available and various predators are out there preying on those vulnerable little hearts. The media depicts disrespect as being cool and without any filters, the information is going down in the worst way possible.
Opening the newspapers shows sad realities of risk taking taken too far. Extreme sports, the need for speed, exploring of new experiences like narcotics and casual sex have all been introduced to our kids through various sources. As adults, we seldom take interest in viewing and filtering the information they come into contact with. Another trend, is the lack of time and the replacement of human love with love of the material kind. When, as adults, we get too absorbed in our work, we think the only way to show our children that we love them is by buying them what they want. No one ever said spend every waking hour with your kids. Even a few quality minutes spent doing what your kids like doing with them can make all the difference in the world. The kinds of electronics that we shower our kids with is way beyond most of our comprehension. They have iphones and ipads and PlayStation and Xboxes and who knows what not? And then again, who knows what they are? Have we taken the time to screen the kinds of games they play on these consoles? Are you aware of the fact that not all games made are appropriate for children? In fact, more than 50% of the games your children are played are not age appropriate at all. Some of our children are playing games that even adults find offensive. Take it up as a challenge this week. Just google some of the games you see your child playing for content. Just because something is called a game, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s for children.
As adults, we are blessed with the opportunity to build the future through our kids. Making excuses for their behaviour isn’t going to work, finding excuses for our own behaviour is going to cause more damage. In a world where change is the only constant, we need to find awareness. In a world where trends are always changing, we need to stay abreast. For today is the preview of our tomorrow, and you are the engineer at the helm.
