Dear Editor,
Two very senior churchmen had occasion to express dismay recently on the misuse of modern tools and resources, and as these enable a presence in and contributions through social media. Both religious leaders recognized the great strides and expansions made possible by technology advances; they also spoke in public gatherings of the dangers, the distractions, and the temptations. To their words I add that when the negative is engaged in, then self-degradation follows right on the heels.
Recent developments indicate a growing misuse of modern media facilities for the ugly, the perverse, and the degrading by too many in this society. As the church leader noted, on the one hand, there is the advance of live streaming of parliamentary proceedings; and, on the other, there is also the facility, which is seized, for a world of negativity under the cloak of cyber nom de plumes. Whether the youthful or older, more mature citizens, sometimes anonymity generates irresponsibility, which on occasion leads to an irreversibility of individual indignity. This is neither democracy nor free speech at work; it is a monstrous ugliness that questions personal motivations and personal standards, regardless of age.
To my chagrin, I learn from contemporaries that irresponsible behaviours are all about challenges. These mindless challenges are the equivalent of jumping off moral and ethical precipices and to hell with the fallout. It is a combination of a ‘dare’ and one-upmanship. The equally mindless objective is to determine who will get more ‘likes’ or ‘hits’ on social media. This is more than appalling stupidity unleashed and exposed; it is recklessness and incomparable brainlessness run amok.
But the carelessness is not limited to excesses on social media. I have had the misfortune to observe close-up some other situations involving both adults and children. These situations point to an ingrained disdain for highly regarded moments and totems. I am standing there and observing adults moving around nonchalantly as the national anthem is played; the children are just as unsettled and restless. The national flag is being raised and many are still sitting. Is anything special anymore?
I shift from the national and secular to the spiritual. The Lord’s Prayer is underway and the younger ones (not the little ones) are either talking, or smirking, or interfering. The Christians are in the forefront of this disregard. There is a religious service, a long solemn moment, except that many of the children refuse to be solemn; or at least incorporate some semblance of the courtesy of a respectful silence in their presence. Is nothing sacred anymore? Where is the training, the call to standards, the insistence on compliance? Where?
Still, I seize the opportunity to implore the young ones, particularly the school-age ones, to not dabble in the dark, negative side of cyberspace; I caution that they are perilous and can come back to haunt. I urge adults to be responsible by manifesting the respect due to national emblems and special moments. I exhort all to appreciate more deeply the significance of routine religious occasions.
Editor, there is another bigger, harder, and more profound challenge. It is issued here and it is directed at adults and parents. I think that it can help to return to some modicum of comportment and acceptable behaviour.
Adults need to set the example by establishing a high bar, and then adhering to it and insisting upon its observation. More pointedly, parents must rise and take ownership and control of their homes; they must rediscover their children. Parents and adults must know what gadgets are used for, and the extent of available features; they must oversee constantly, and audit regularly. Parents must manifest greater maturity and responsibility; they must cease outsourcing sensitive obligations to the paid convenience of other agents and institutions. And it is time for thoughtful caring parents to stop pampering and condoning wrongdoing on the part of their offspring. Remediation is not helped by justification or vacillation; more harm is generated, more reputational risk incurred.
In terms of some practical examples, parents need to be conscious of that all-purpose costume ‘research’; it must be investigated to ensure that it is indeed research and about academics. Youngsters allowed the freedom of 24-hour unsupervised internet access are armed with a dangerous instrumentality. It can be destructive. Oversee! Manage! Care!
Adults must know where their children are, and this includes in the home and what they are doing there. That cellphone and that computer system can both bring to terrible places, if left unsupervised. Parents must know more about their children, from limitations to enterprising nature to willingness to play with fire. How and what they are doing in school; what their teachers think of their efforts; and who are their running mates. Failure to immerse in these basics is asking for trouble, and sends the wrong message to the youngsters.
For all these reasons and more, absentee parents must wake up, get real, and get involved; those who care enough should insist on standards and decorum, with tough sanctions known and waiting in the event of breaches. Hard, consistent, and caring action is called for; this includes the young, it envelops the old. The responsibilities start and end with adults, regardless of the arena. Can we find it in ourselves to rise, please?
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
