The Toxic Sting of Bad Company: Children and Adolescents are Drifting into Darkness

The Toxic Sting of Bad Company: Children and Adolescents are Drifting into Darkness

A child’s development gradually enters a crucial stage during adolescence. Adolescence and youth are among the most promising periods for building one’s life.During this time,along with physical and psychological changes, children and adolescents also experience significant changes in their social outlook.They are driven by intense emotions,develop a growing curiosity to know and learn about everything and often lack the maturity to distinguish right from wrong.They begin to think independently and feel capable of making their own decisions.This period is extremely sensitive for a child’s overall development.Therefore,they can easily be influenced by others.Excessive parental discipline,lack of attention due to parent’s busy schedules or insufficient companionship within the family may cause children to become more emotionally attached to their friends. When an adolescent becomes involved with a group of bad companions, they gradually and often unknowingly move away from family and social values.Out of curiosity or under peer pressure they may initially start smoking and eventually become addicted to various drugs.This path of addiction can give rise to juvenile gangs, theft,robbery, extortion and various other criminal activities.Bad company not only causes moral degradation among adolescents and young people but also destroys their bright future at an early stage.Lack of interest in studies and growing distance from family can eventually push them into a life of frustration and hopelessness.Moreover, excessive and uncontrolled use of mobile phones as a means of entertainment is creating another serious challenge.Many adolescents spend hours playing online games in groups and stay awake late at night.Abusive language and aggressive behaviour within games as well as the obsession with going viral on TikTok and similar platforms are hindering their normal development.Some children spend money secretly,without their parent’s knowledge,to purchase items within online games or on social media platforms.Likes, views and comments on TikTok or Reels often become measures of their self-worth.In the pursuit of popularity,some adolescents take dangerous challenges or create inappropriate content,sometimes exposing themselves to serious risks. Being subjected to trolling and cyberbullying can increase feelings of inferiority and emotional stress.Staying awake late at night on a regular basis disrupts sleep and may contribute to problems such as eye strain and headaches.If this continues for a long time,irritability,loneliness and anxiety may increase.Unfortunately, because of their busy schedules,many parents do not know whom their children are spending time with,what they are watching on their phones or whether they are struggling emotionally.By the time parents become aware of the situation their children may already be deeply involved in harmful habits. Bringing them back to a healthy and positive path can then become much more difficult.The consequences do not affect adolescents alone  they can cause serious disruption to family and social life as well.Adolescents who become addicted to such activities often lose interest in their studies, and for some their education comes to an early end. Their physical and psychological well being may deteriorate and they may lose confidence in themselves.Their parents become worried and distressed, while conflict and financial difficulties may arise within the family.As a result, the country loses valuable and promising human resources.Therefore,parental awareness is essential for ensuring the healthy development of children and adolescents.The following measures can help create a strong foundation for their intellectual,emotional and moral development.First,parents should spend quality time with their children.A person spends a significant portion of their life within the family.Therefore,talking with children and adolescents,eating meals together,learning about their interests and aspirations,reading books,poems or stories to them,taking them out in the afternoon and allowing them to play regularly in open fields can contribute greatly to their happiness and intellectual development.Second,parents should be conscious about their children’s choice of friends.During the important years of development parents should help their children choose good friends.They should know their children’s friends, maintain a friendly relationship with their families and remain aware of where their children go,whom they spend time with and how long they use their phones. Regular communication and timely supervision can make it easier to bring children back from the wrong path.On the other hand,good companionship can encourage children and adolescents to move forward toward a brighter future in a healthy and constructive way.Third, parents should remember that children and adolescents are highly influenced by imitation.Since much of their development takes place within the family, parents should avoid excessive mobile phone use in front of their children,family quarrels,disrespectful behaviour toward family members and the use of inappropriate language.A healthy,respectful and harmonious family environment can help children grow into compassionate individuals with strong moral values.Fourth,children should be encouraged to develop moral and religious values.From an early age, they should be taught to understand the difference between right and wrong. Encouraging religious values,good manners,honesty,kindness and respectful behaviour can help them develop the ability to choose the right path independently.Fifth,we are living in an age of technology. Although mobile devices are often necessary for online classes and educational purposes their use should be limited to specific and appropriate periods.At the same time, children can be given controlled access to educational and creative applications such as YouTube Kids,puzzles, mathematics based games and coding learning applications.Appropriate use of technology can help children and adolescents develop their thinking and creativity while enabling them to keep pace with the technology driven world.Sixth,children and adolescents should be encouraged to participate in creative activities.Drawing,learning music,doing their own work,reciting poems,reading storybooks,creating something new,planting trees and taking care of them and helping with household activities can contribute significantly to their overall development.Such activities help children become confident, responsible,creative and well rounded individuals.Children and adolescents are our greatest assets and the future builders of a human and value based nation.Giving them sufficient time and attention,developing friendly relationships within the family,providing religious and moral education,helping them choose good friends,setting reasonable limits on device use, ensuring access to appropriate applications and providing proper guidance can help them build a beautiful and fulfilling future.Only when families, teachers, and society work together with awareness and responsibility can our children and adolescents grow into healthy,ethical,responsible and enlightened citizens of the future.

Jannat Akter Shila

Department of Chemistry

Eden Mohila College