Be Kind: Young Ones Are Constantly Bombarded Online

However, to come up with an answer, we needed to take a step back and assess how it was during our time or our days as teenagers. Growing up in the ‘90s, we didn’t have smartphones, the internet, or social media. 

Well, there was the internet, but it was not accessible to the common people. Plus, the user interface of websites during that time was crude, loading was slow, and you don’t pretty much get any entertainment from websites. The internet of the ‘90s was used mainly for office work or academic work/research.

We were disconnected most of the time from the outside world, and we didn’t experience bullying and intimidation on a constant basis. If there were bullies at that time, we only got to experience it at school or outside. But we were also with our friends most of the time when we were outside, and we can easily protect each other from other groups of kids who may want to intimidate us. 

Parang yung support system naming, nandun agad. May validation din agad coming from our friends (syempre may mga hiritan at lokohan din on the side), so kung ano man yung naramdaman natin na stress and tension from the experience, we can easily dispel those because we surround each other and protect each other.

And then going back to the kids these days, they are exposed to the online world, particularly on social media, at such a young age. Let’s admit it, social media platforms these days are full of trash, with content creators trying their best to go viral at any cost. If you are not careful, you see a proliferation of inappropriate posts (aka ladies dancing wearing skimpy clothes) and even uncensored road accidents become content or scoops for some unscrupulous individuals.

Then there are also content creators who post about unrealistic standards of beauty and success. We all know that young minds get swayed easily into believing what they see online as the absolute truth. As such, the a need for support and guidance from parents.

Then there are online bullies who are out there to rage-bait or comment negatively on posts. Kumbaga, ang objective lang is mambully online. Let’s admit it, mas madali mambully these days because they take comfort in their anonymity, unlike during our days, na bullies only act when they have an opportunity to do so.

And then dahil online nga, when young ones get bullied, they don’t have a support system readily available to them…walang mga friends or family na nandyan sa tabi nila to comfort them. So the tendency is for them to keep the negativity within themselves and for it to linger in their heads.

Anyway, it was just a theory from my colleague and me. During our youth, we were outside most of the time. When we were feeling lonely, we would take our bikes and go to our friends, and we would bike around town. We were constantly surrounded by real people, unlike these days when interactions are mostly online.

Just the same, to close this post, I urge everyone to show a bit of kindness during our online interactions. As our parents always say, keep in mind that other people are also going through something, a rough patch or a life challenge, no matter their status in society.

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