Me! A Teen in this era!

Sometime ago I interviewed a group of teens and posed this question to them:

“What makes one vulnerable?”

They came up with the following answers:

1) Being in situations where I'm not comfortable, most of the time it's just the great unknown that scares me.

2) Having no alternatives for action.

3) Opening up my feelings to someone,
   scares me.

4) Some situations in the past have made me feel that way.

5) Loneliness and boredom.

6) When I'm feeling worthless, when I feel lonely and when people
   are bombarding me with heaps of bloody questions all at once.

Their answers saddened me. I saw innocent children in need of love, warmth, affection and acceptance. My heart just felt a surge of compassion and I wanted to hold them in my arms all at once.

Teens these days, are living in a much more hostile and challenging environment than us in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s era. In the 50’s and 60’s in Singapore, we did not have hand-phones. Most homes did not even have televisions or telephones. We had to rely on telegrams and letters to send messages. We used to congregate at the CC’s to catch an interesting programme. Everyone, Chinese, Indians, Malays and Eurasians will sit together and enjoy a Chinese ‘Wayang’ or a Malay drama or a Tamil variety show. There was community living and sharing. There was no internet. Thus we grew up in a safe haven unscathed by the influences of the so called ‘Western World’.

Children these days are exposed to the whole world even in the seclusion of their individual homes. An altogether different concept of living tantalizes their minds. They have to go through immense struggles both mentally and emotionally to sieve through the present attractions and the demands made on them, to make the right choices in life.

Most teens seldom come through the challenges unscathed. But those who come through stand up as successful leaders who are able to counsel, lead and deliver those who are in similar predicaments.

If I was a teen now I don’t know how I would be and I certainly do not want to be a teen in this era.

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