We live in an exciting world. The world where information is available at our fingertips. Just a couple of touches on our smartphone and we can tell the current temperature of a city at the opposite end of the world. Our generation might be one of the luckiest generations. We have google for all our queries. Youtube for never letting us get bored. Facebook to connect our thoughts. Whatsapp to talk freely. This list can go on and on. I feel lucky to have been born in this time. But are we that lucky?
It really saddens me to know the increasing depression rates in teens. According to stats, around 50 percent teens have had an anxiety disorder. There has been a 37 percent rise in major depression from 2005 to 2014 in just US alone. Upto 20% Canadians suffer from mental illness. In fact, in Canada, suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens.
I think this is the side effect of going digital. The dark side of the boon. Teens and adults are using social platforms just to showcase how cool they are. To post pictures of the places they went, not to share them with the world but just to make them jealous. To show them the cool life they are living and what others are missing out by not doing what they are doing. And hey, I am not trying to be the idealist. I have done that in the past and do it every now and then because of seeing all the “cool” stuff my “friends” are doing and then honestly, I want to show them the same.
Recently I have moved to another continent for a job. I have noticed how people are just doing things “for others”. Instead of enjoying their play time, they’ll make sure they are captured while playing. Going out to eat? Lets take a pic and show the world what I am eating. Trekking is not just a thrilling adventure and exploration. It is a showcase to the world that we went there and we had so much fun. When honestly, half of the time was being spent in taking pictures, uploading them, checking the number of likes, replying to them and then eventually checking for likes on those comments. Check-ins at every airport to show that you are travelling is another example of this fad. I could go on with this nonsense, and it still won’t end. Trust me.
Pictures are not just to retain memories but a constant race of the number of likes you get. Then there is a teen sitting in his home, looking at all those pictures and thinking, “Man! what am I doing with my life”, “My life sucks!”, “I hate my life”. This needs to stop. The sooner the better.
I do think that its not the kid’s fault. The kid was continuously being told by their parents, relatives, friends on how “cool” doing all this is. This is just that kid’s instinct. If he doesn’t do it, he’ll be considered a wierdo or antisocial. A 5 year old girl making a pout when being clicked is not something to “awww” for. This is what she is being taught to do by the society. Which sucks.
Teens are following any stupid trend on the internet just to look cool among their friends. Because hey! thats what you are taught right? To be cooler or better than the neighbour or that relative. And those challenges… yeah those challenges… the banana peel challenge, hot pepper challenge, the fire challenge, one finger challenge, and so on and so forth. I am not going to waste my time by explaining these idiotic things here. But one challenge recently got my attention and literally shook me. The “Blue whale” challenge. This challenge is asking teens to complete daily tasks for 50 days. The tasks include self harming, watching horror movies and these are just the tip of the iceberg. The challenges becomes more self harming in the future days and eventually at the 50th day, the moderators ask those teens to commit suicide. Bloody Hell! And yeah you got that right, teens are even doing that to show how cool and daring they are. There have been 130+ reported suicides by that game. Yeah… shit!
Teens are depressed. Depressed of their friends having a partner; Of their friends earning more; Of not being able to go to places where their friends are travelling. Again, I am not a person who is eligible enough to talk about the horrific conditions of depression. But all I want to say by this post is to let every kid know that most of the people out there are living just to impress others. People are just greedy. They get hold of one thing and dream of the one higher. What you feel by looking at those photos of cool places/things/activities, are technically crafted for you to make you feel so.
People aren’t just going to stop posting their “cool life stuff” on the internet. The giant companies are craftily designing their products to make sure of that. As for you, the one sitting in his home, and thinking your life sucks, IT DOES. But so does everyone else’s. So yeah, life is unfair for everyone, which eventually makes it fair. Smile, go out, laugh, explore… but do that for yourself :)