We see a lot of change in our surroundings today. We also have witnessed constant change in the economy of the world, how it has been affecting organizations and people alike. Moreover the cultural changes that is spread in India and also in the rest of the world has been worrying.
The changes in the social surroundings include natural changes, cultural changes, economic changes, status changes and many more. The ups and downs, high and lows in each of these affect the social man. One of the reasons being, man has been an imitator from the time of his birth. He has been aping all that he finds around himself. From the time of birth, the language he learns, the mannerisms, his character and his culture all are imitations of what he sees around. So his own behavior is subjected to change according to the social surroundings he is in.
The changes in the factors that affect a man’s behavior may be temporary or permanent. This depends on the amount of time he is exposed to the change, the severity, and his own determination and will.
The problems we may talk of in a society due to various changes we find may not be a problem to many others. It depends on one’s own perceptions and perspectives. It may also change from one generation to another. What may be termed as a problem to one generation may not be to the other, or we may say that, the generations to come may evolve with them. The generation we live in too, has learnt to live with many situations and changes which were termed as problems by our ancestors.
The same is with what we term as ethical. A peace loving nation says bringing peace to the world is ethical, whereas a war minded society may say otherwise.
It is left to the individual to deicide what is ethical to him and what is a problem to him. As per Gandhi the father of our nation, for a nation to improve the society should, for a society to improve the individual should. Many legendaries have stressed upon the betterment of an individual first then on societies then the nation. The reason being, individuals make a society and societies make a nation.
The youth of today are the pillars of tomorrow. Quoted in another way, the youth of today are the pillars of the nation. For a better and prospering nation the youth has to be the best and prospering. They need to be given the best of knowledge and wisdom so that they may decide wisely between the right and wrong, wants and desire, need and surplus.
There are a few problems which needs professional help and some which can be curbed by individual initiative. We need to understand them and offer our support to people and help solve such problems. A proper knowledge of these should also be given to the upcoming youth.
As the youth of the nation it is our responsibility to know and take right action against the problems we face in our own society. We also have the need to know how to react to the various happenings in our society. Being ignorant or not reactive to the happenings around us helps no one. But we need to be knowledgeable and supportive to curb the wrong doings in our society which may affect us and the future in a wrong way.
Terrorism is a word all of us a very familiar with today. It now has become a word which we hear on a daily basis. We have heard and seen in many occasions that kids below age of ten also handle guns in a few parts of Africa. Also most of them are very well educated too. We hear from the news that terrorist who were caught are graduates or degree holders in arts or science. Also they are being paid handsomely. Such is the reach of terrorism in today’s world. It is mostly youth who enter and join them. One among many ways to stop this is to counsel the youth, don’t allow them to be brainwashed by wrong people. The people who come to brainwash them may have many excuses for what they do, but we have to decide what is right according to us. Is killing innocent people in the name of religion or country right or is having talks of peace and negotiations without bloodshed the way to peace. Remember war never brings peace.
Crime is another issue the youth of today face as a problem. When we open the news paper we find the crime pages thicker than any other page in paper. Murder for few amounts of money, revenge, rape, robbery, cheating etc are what we read early in the morning. These have become so common that we just read and forget it. They may not even be a matter of discussion or concern in our lives. A perfect example of how non reactive man has become today. As responsible citizens we can lend a hand in this by securing ourselves and not giving a chance to anti social elements to harm us. Prevention is better than cure is something we hear and tend to follow, prevent yourself from being harmed, and be alert, cautious and conscious.
Calling politics as an issue may not be right. But today if I call it a root for many issues we witness in our cities I may not be wrong. Bandh, strike, hartal, bring about a smile in the faces of kids and youth as schools n colleges remain closed, so do the elders feel good as their offices remain closed. But the amount of loss the government undergoes in ways of transport and trade is huge. Public property is made from our own hard earned money, spoiling and breaking it means spoiling and breaking our own property. Understand what we do and think and act accordingly. Joining such anti social elements in such activities does only harm than good to us.
Lack of roots is one other big problem. By this I mean lack of proper communication with relatives, loosing touch with them. This is pretty natural when the individual gets busy with work and study, mostly due to off shore study and work. Many of us don’t know or even have lost contacts with our cousins. Things are alarming in the west, where brothers and sisters too have lost contacts with each other, or even with parents. The problem arises in such cases when the person is in some problem, he finds very few people to share or help him out of this. The more people you know the more relieving it would be in such cases. Though we may have friends people with whom we have blood relations and of the same cultural background may prove more helpful at times. We should be able to be in touch with most of our relatives; this can also serve as a stress buster at times where we could have a family get-together and plan various activities.
Being too social in life is a problem and so is not being social. Lack of communication within the surrounding areas of house is one other problem the youth faces. This too is something which comes as a result of busy lives. We don’t know who the person is next door. We don’t know the persons who live in our colony. They may prove useful at times necessary. When we live far from house and suppose a case of an emergency, we have our neighbors to come to our aid. The person staying next door may be a doctor, or police personnel who may be of great help to us. Knowing them and having a friend among them is of great use. This has been changing nowadays where people working in the same organization have been staying together in the same colony.
India is a land of diverse cultures. Each of them has its own uniqueness and beauty. Cultures and rituals of each region have its own grace. Everything has now become a compulsion or part of a bigger thing. Most of them are being omitted and skipped due to lack of time. All rituals performed, cultures followed have its own meaning and importance, and nothing can be exempted by terming it as waste of time. Many churches in the west have been closed down or are converted to marriage halls because people don’t go to church. Most rituals have a scientific explanation for their effects and many still being found out The Holy mass offered by Christians, the puja offered by the Hindus, namaz by the Muslims all the prayers are being offered to one God. People of one clan need not discriminate the other or people of the same clan have to understand the importance of their own rituals and cultures. We all need to learn to live in unity. The religious fights we see in various places in India all of no worth or meaning. The youth has to understand this and learn to make friends with all of them. Remember in India we follow “Unity in Diversity”.
Aping the west in many things is one other trend we see in our daily life. This is called the “in thing” today. This also poses a major threat to the culture of India. Not to mention the problems the youth face due to this, physically, mentally, psychologically. The youth are moving to live in relationships, platonic relationships, which may not pose any problem now, but surely in the near future. Pub cultures, night culture, one night stands, have become a common thing in many metropolitan cities and are fast catching up in other cities too. A realization lacks that the pleasures that are got from this are just temporary and may pose problems too. Peer pressure is one among the main reasons for more and more youth to fall into these. Counseling and guidance may help and stop youth from falling prey to them. Parents can also take a step in understanding the youth, their problems, talking to them, help them solve problems and various other measures.
The mental status of adolescents can never be predicted. They may be fine at one moment and moody at another. They scale and react to situations differently at different moments. Youths who are students may be held in peer pressure or parental pressure; this may do well to them or also be harm, according to the pressures they undergo. Many youths successfully overcome all this and shine in life, but some succumb to them. After their study life, another big question in front of them would be employment; people who get into jobs lead a peaceful life until they join and the rest go through lot of mental pressure, being answerable to self, parents and to many questioning mouths in and out of their family. The success and failure and each stage of their life moulds the individual in a special way. The youth has to take each phase of life with a special courage and be prepared to face any hurdles that come in the way. They should learn to take life as it comes but with a certain plan in mind and act accordingly. Celebrate success and gain experiences from failures. Thomas Edison Quotes “I have not failed. I've just found 10000 ways that won't work”. Believing in the thought that “All that happens, happens for good” and that “There is a time for every good to happen in life” may help many of us get over our failures and start afresh.
The busy life and schedule in our lives have caused many problems in life. Our perceptions also have played a villain. Small yet effective ways can help us cope with many problems in our life. Many practices likes yoga and reiki help us clear our minds and help us keep our calm, which in turn help us find solutions for many problems in our lives. Counseling youth on ways of life and parents on how to lend a hand to the youth in their decisions may be helpful. Youth also needs to take up a few responsibilities and learn to understand and adjust to a few things in the society. Having proper priorities in life help setting clear goals in life, this can help in finding time for everything and everyone. Wise decisions and calm mind is a perfect combination for a good character.
