Declining education, unemployment, parental neglect, and societal apathy have fuelled a dangerous obsession among youth, risking the moral fabric and future of the nation. Urgent collective action is needed to steer young minds toward constructive paths.
By Syed Mustafa Ahmad
It is an acknowledged reality that as time passes, changes continue to occur. Generally, every new thing brings with it elements of both good and evil. However, the most important aspect is how a thing impacts a nation. In this context, we can also look at the internet. The internet began in India around 1985. Initially, it was limited to a select few people. There was little public awareness about it. But then, the evolution of time and the maturity of the human mind brought about such a revolution in the world of the internet, as it did in other spheres of life, that now the entire world starts revolving vividly before our eyes at the click of a button, and whatever a person searches for is available in a thousandth of a second. Along with this, the world of social media also began to be introduced into our lives.
Besides social connection, social media began to significantly impact our economic as well as our educational worlds. The world began to shrink with each passing day. But this invention also brought with it venomous insects of destruction, for which no medicine seems to be proving effective. The funeral of ethics had already taken place when the internet and its associated tools fell into the hands of minors and the uneducated. How can a minor, a person unfamiliar with the nuances of the modern era, filter everything through rigorous processes to see the truth in its original form?
Amid this storm of indecency and absurdities, a new absurdity was born, which we know as ‘vlogging’. For those who do professional vlogging, it is a reasonable source of income. But it is regrettable for those people, especially the youth, who invest their precious time and capital in this futile work, which ultimately leads their lives towards ruin.
When I began studying the material available on the internet, interesting information emerged. A professional vlogger earns lakhs of rupees through a single vlog. For them, it’s a legitimate source of earnings. Conversely, what are the compulsions or what kind of compulsions have befallen these youths that they leave their education and suddenly jump into the delicate and ethically devoid world of vlogging? What reasons have emerged causing the brilliant minds of the youth to become displaced? What deficiency of evils existed in our society that the addiction to vlogging has gripped the youth so intensely that they don’t even hesitate to share the private matters of the bathroom with others? What is that curse whose ill fate has struck us all so that basic, private activities usually done away from others’ eyes, like sleeping, bathing, sitting, etc., have now become a public spectacle?
The youth who engage in vlogging can be excused to some extent due to their minority, but what about those conscienceless people who, despite being adults and wise, tear apart the very fabric of ethics? A few days ago, when we saw the so-called vlogging of some minor boys and girls, we had to say in a tone filled with regret that not only the present but also the future of these minors is in danger. Talks of their ruin have begun, and now we only await the day when the eyewitness account of their destruction will be before everyone.
Now, if we examine closely, there are some motivations due to which the dirty habit of vlogging has become ingrained in the young generation. A brief mention of some motivations is below.
The first reason is the declining standard of education. The purpose of education is to produce conscious and wise citizens. Education guarantees the purity of the human soul. Education is about not letting go of the hem of ethics. Conversely, if we look at the education provided here, such education does not fall into the category of ‘education’ in any respect. Here, education revolves solely around the axis of materialism. The money that can be extorted from students is never enough. In this jungle of fake degrees and fake teachers, if a large number of minor vloggers are not born, what else can we expect? When the element of deception is ingrained in our education system, what can be expected from it other than foolish actions?
The second is unemployment. When youth above thirty years of age are unable to secure jobs, then young students start struggling early in search of their livelihood, and in this struggle, they are seen trying their hand at vlogging as well. When a young student sees his educated elders wandering for employment, and simultaneously finds professional vloggers, big and small, earning in lakhs online, he too starts flowing in their current. When a ten-year-old, naive child earns one lakh from a single vlog, what use are the history carried on shoulders in Kashmir or the mind-numbing books of Physics? A smartphone, a good camera, and glib talk are the necessities with which an ordinary-looking student will showcase his inexperience to the fullest.
Furthermore, people are also tired of the dry lessons of philosophy and history, and to escape this boredom, they immerse themselves in the colours of naive children, forsaking their own beautiful and mature hue to become a symbol of ugliness.
The third is parental negligence. Most parents today have become worshippers of materialism. Their entire existence is limited to materialism. They don’t even have enough time to care for their children. In the race to outdo others, they only see magnificent houses, colourful buildings, filled bank accounts, etc. To these parents, their children also appear as money. Due to this irresponsible attitude, their children fall prey to absurdities, one example of which is vlogging. How a minor boy or girl uses their phone is the most important responsibility of the parents. But contrary to this, in the obsession to introduce their children to the glamour of the new era and to stay one step ahead of others, parents metaphorically strangle their children. This way, it doesn’t take long for the child to develop a personality with bad habits.
The fourth is a lack of national spirit/national consciousness. We, as a nation, have lost. The consciousness through which nations prosper has become rare in our lives. The conscious members of society have even started hating the act of reformation. In earlier times, gatherings for advice used to be held where the moral and intellectual training of children took place. But today, conversely, every person is so engrossed in their own world that even if someone is dying around them, no one cares. Like intoxicated people, the so-called wise men of society, by hiding in a fake world, have ruined the condition of society. Everyone is insistent on their own willfulness. No one is ready to listen to anyone. Human behaviour is becoming a dream. It seems there is no way out of this helplessness.
The fifth and final reason is the encouragement of YouTubers and vloggers. We are the ones who have placed indecency and immorality on a pedestal. If we had heeded the call of time, the situation would not have reached this point. The youth are slipping through our hands like sand. Vlogging and other types of obsessions, or rather that magic which, as the saying goes, ‘having climbed the head, speaks,’ has enveloped our saplings in such a way that now no remedy or remedy-maker is visible.
The consequences of this vlogging are evident before us. Slowly, animals are growing within human forms. The negative impact of the young generation’s waywardness has begun to fall upon domestic happiness as well. More than that, the entire society is beginning to be affected by it. Education has become a mere formality in the minds of children. In the guise of progress, ruin is mocking us. Our future is at stake. We are all trapped in the whirlpool of indecency.
Before the water rises above our heads, the government and responsible persons in society should take the lead in this matter. The youth who engage in vlogging should be counselled and kept away from this work. Impoverished youth must either be provided with other employment opportunities or given financial support for some time so they can stand on their own feet. There is an urgent need to activate Bait-ul-Maal and other Zakat-based institutions. This can cut the roots of many sins. Furthermore, parents should also keep a special eye on their children. They should avoid unnecessary scolding. They should talk to them, considering the sensitivity of the time.
And finally, it is our national responsibility to strive to the best of our ability to guide our youth onto the right path, so that the clouds of obscenity may disperse from our beautiful garden, and the young generation may focus on their own constructive development.
sy***************@***il.com