Looking through shattered pieces of glass

Looking at the world around us, reading headlines and scrolling through various social media platforms can be really disheartening and leaves very little room for hope when we look at what the world has become today. It is frightening for some of us to even think about what will happen in the next few years if the condition that we are all living in today has degraded so much. It seems that no area is spared. Be it academics, politics, health and welfare of the people, living conditions of the less privileged and the use of science and technology to name a few. In every field, people are being cheated and exploited in every way possible. Hence the saying that we are the most privileged generation while at the same time, the most miserable.

A young student would feel very discouraged taking a look at the world around us. In our generation today, we struggle with some of the most serious issues concerning self-identity, gender equality and racial discrimination. If you ask most teenagers today if they’re happy with the way they look and are, many a times, the answer would be “Not really.” Why is that, you ask. Well, the answer is simple: Lack of self esteem and social media which puts a lot of pressure on young people to project a certain lifestyle in order to have many likes and followers and of course, to be appreciated for who and what they are.

It’s funny how, for those of us not really into social media, are assumed to be ignorant and care-free about issues that are very much prevalent in our society. In this way, most of us end up joining the crowd by reposting stories and posts only to show that we care. However, rarely do we really analyse a problem and seek a real solution to it. In the past few months, racism has been a hot topic that most teenagers in the state would share their views on. No, there isn’t anything wrong with that. We all are welcomed to share and voice our opinions on various matters. The sad truth is that most of us do not know how to do that in a way that makes people think about their actions rather it provokes hateful comments and only adds fuel to the fire. Is that what we intend to get as solutions to problems we face?

If we talk about gender issues: the fact that women are being mistreated, discriminated and subjected to horrendous crimes is not something new. The question here is why are these getting worse each day? We could try to blame it on the opposite gender. But has this brought about any solution to the problem? No. Looks like the bigger problem is that we have failed to realise that this all starts in our homes. If we are brought up in an environment that teaches us to appreciate and treat both genders with the same respect, we could diminish and ultimately eradicate these problems to a great extent.

Everybody wants to change the world, my friends. But the power to change the world comes only when we realize we don’t have the power to change the world. But we have the power to change ourselves, our thoughts and our actions. It’s important that we remind ourselves that the only solution to most of the problems we face is to start with ourselves. Start by analyzing oneself and making the necessary changes. This is the smallest step young people can take towards contributing to a better society.