In today’s social and digital world, things have become faster and clear. Thanks to the different gadgets and applications, there are tools to make pictures look flawless. Do we stop to ask ourselves if what we are seeing is real or edited?

Our world is full of advertisements, and they are everywhere: hoardings, on social media, and more. Personally, I strongly agree that young people, especially teenagers, are influenced by what they see on social media. They start believing what they see or read. Everything has two sides, and I do agree that a little exposure is good, but today’s youth is getting too affected. By seeing posts on different platforms of social media, people start comparing which makes them lack confidence and develop self-esteem issues.

Parents comes first when it comes to comparing their children with other people’s children, be it in classwork, projects, exams activities, grades, looks and more. With all this pressure, teenagers start comparing themselves to the outer world for everything. Why are the skills of one individual not given importance? Nowadays, all smart phones and gadgets comes with lots of free applications for editing and highlighting videos and pictures, and young people see this and get attracted to them. They start getting affected by social media and become restless. They forget that God has made all individuals unique and special in their own way.

With being constantly invested in social media, children have become aloof and busy in their own world. They have become serious and reserved. Parents can do a lot to help children cope with this situation. Mobiles and gadgets should be kept aside and parents should encourage more family time. They should have more talkative sessions at home. At times, children need attention, they need to be listened to and allowed to open up. Parents should understand their mental state and should know what their children do on the internet. They should try and append more time with them and make memories. Life is not easy but indeed it’s a precious gift from God. Every creation is unique. We just have to find our special quality.

We might not be good at everything but will definitely be good at something. Perfection can be achieved through hard work and dedication. Parents should stay connected with their children and mould them in a way so that they become better human beings and responsible citizens of tomorrow.

- The reader is a resident of Abu Dhabi