By Madhurima Ghosh –
Youth of any nation helps towards its growth and progression. They determine the upcoming social, economic and political reforms of a country. However, today’s youth is slowly being engulfed by addiction. Along with the age-old intoxications of alcohol, drugs and gambling, the internet is turning out to be a new form of addiction for the current generation. Smartphones being so easily available now, expose the juvenile minds into the world of cyberspace. They prefer playstation over a play in the park, texting over meeting their friends in person, pdf formats over a real book, clicking pictures for posting it online over enjoying the beauties of nature. Thus, social media, games and even erotica are taking control over the young minds posing a threat to their future.
However, addiction doesn’t occur over the night, it begins with experimentation, regular use, high risk use followed by dependency. Now here it is a matter of question, as to why a teen begins to experiment with the internet, alcohol or drugs. There can be several answers to that. Busy working parents often hand over smart phones to their kids to keep them busy. Therefore, they gradually become phone addicts to overcome their loneliness. Even pressure from parents for high grades, turn a teen towards alcohol and drugs which become a sort of escape from the stress for them. A wrong influential friend can also push a child into the world of addiction. Thus, the root to all of this is lack of proper parental guidance and friendly environment at home.
How can parents stop their children from walking into the path of addiction?
Spending quality time and proper communication would allow children to freely express their thoughts. Even a friendly home should have some healthy rules and consequences. Visiting book fairs or art classes together can open a new dimension of life for them to explore and get involved. As a parent, one should be aware of their adolescent’s activities, whereabouts and friends. Any sign of addiction when noticed, must be rectified at the very beginning.
With the ever-evolving artificial intelligence, now it is a challenge as well as responsibility of the parents to escort their children from the flames of addiction by providing them proper mental support until they reach adulthood. This would secure their future and in turn secure the future of the nation.