Today
when the world is full of youth forums and there is a lot of talk about youth
empowerment, it is kind of difficult to escape the fact that the 21st
century belongs to the youth. However, it is important to ask a basic question-
Is the youth ready to handle the responsibility of being the centre of Society?
In
this age of communication, when the young adults spend an average of 10 hours
online on various web portals and facebook and Twitter there is a curious
distance amongst individuals. The absence of privacy in the internet age has
given rise to the dichotomy of Online persona aka the public face on Social
networking sites and Private persona, the real personality.
This
juxtaposition of our online and private lives has been criticized by ‘old
timers’ as a shallow existence and raised questions about the increased
alienation of the individual from society.
However,
it can be argued that it is this current dependence on technology and the
overflow of information that has made the youth today much more conscious of
their surroundings. For instance, a young seventeen year old girl from middle
class urban India, reported the case of severe Domestic abuse that a neighbour underwent when she became aware of ‘ring the doorbell’ campaign against Domestic
violence. She credited youtube and facebook
of making her aware of the
seriousness of Domestic Violence so much so that upon hearing frequent noises
from her neighbour’s flat, she correctly interpreted the situation for what it
was, thus saving a woman from serious mental and physical abuse.
It
is thus entirely correct to state that the ‘Future Lies with the Youth’. Young
adults today are much more aware of their rights and duties and have the added
perk of easy access to information available to them. They thus have to keep
their eyes and ears open and can prove instrumental in curbing a variety of
social evils and maladies that our world suffers. So yes, the Youth today are
alive and kicking, ready to face all that is thrown in their path and face all
challenges head on.
Kamakshi Tiwary
Building Bridges- India
