Teens of yesteryears, i.e. the current baby boomers, were aeons apart from teens of today.
Personal computers did not exist then, only huge monstrous machines into which you had to feed in papers with holes, something called “Fortran” language, if I remember correctly. We never heard of the word “cyber” nor did cyber cafes exist.
What we had were snack bars which were air-conditioned and they were like ice-cream parlours where you could have ice-cream such as banana split. There were night clubs where you could dance at night, or even places where “tea dances” were held in the afternoons and you could while away an afternoon dancing. Remember the Twist, Rock n Roll, Cha Cha, Samba, etc?
We had healthy pastimes. Seldom did we hear of drugs or syabu. No pregnant students nor abandoned babies. No one who came from a good background ever stayed out late. Most were home before midnight as parents were strict. Dates were chaperoned usually by a younger sibling who was tasked to tag along with elder sister on a date.T
However, these days, teenagers are a very different kettle of fish. Many of them come from affluent homes, have the latest gadgets and hang out till way past their bedtime. Parents have become either very permissive or helpless, unable to control their rebellious teens.
There are the Mat Rempits ( bikers who race at night and disturb the peace ), the groupies that hang out in all night stalls and those who are internet addicts, spending hours and hours online. To these, night has become their day and day has become night where they sleep away the daylight hours.
However did this evolve?
Parents often have their own agenda, leaving their off spring to their own devices. Moral standards and family values have eroded. Somehow people have become more materialistic, chasing after more and more worldly goods and status symbols, often forgetting that the soul has to be nurtured and tended to.
Why is there such an obsessive need to acquire things and wealth? After all, when we leave this world we cannot take anything with us. Is it not better to put time to better use and nurture the family, so that the youngsters will grow up decent, law-abiding and God-fearing?
If the family unit is strong and the young are brought up right, society will have less ills and the world will be a better place. Too many things are wrong these days and if they are not put right, the future will be unbearable.
No comments:
Post a Comment