Today’s young people, called by specialists the Internet Generation, were born and grew up much differently from previous generations. Today, almost every young person was born and raised with a laptop in their arms, falls asleep with their smartphone next to them, rarely goes outside, and this lifestyle is the main cause of depression and unhappiness.
According to psychologist Lenke Iuhoş, many parents mistakenly blame the development of technology for the current situation, and are not aware of the faulty way in which the total break between real life and virtual life was created. “Most parents give their children laptops, tablets, smart phones, etc., to keep them busy, good, hoping that only through this method they can take care of their daily chores. Unfortunately, however, this way of relating is a deficient one, risking to further exacerbate the emotional rift between parents and children, the latter finally finding their refuge in the virtual world. Even more worrying is the fact that the little ones have come to no longer even rejoice when they receive a latest generation gadget, as the previous generation did when they received a Turbo gum, for example, but adopt an attitude like yes, I should. Technology has come to be used by children not as a way of entertainment, but as a desperate attempt to fill their unhappiness”, explains psychologist Lenke Iuhoş.
How do Generation Z and Generation Alpha cry for help?
The psychologist is of the opinion that the representatives of the Internet Generation tend to adopt two types of attitudes, in order to receive the due attention:
1. He will try to capture the parents’ attention through different methods. “As a rule, to attract attention, at first, children are noisy: they scream, throw toys, make a mess, break things in the house, etc. It is essential for us, the parents, to immediately notice these behaviors and to be aware that they have not reached the maturity necessary to express their feelings and experiences correctly. It is clearly a cry for help, and an attentive parent will immediately understand why their child is naughty. Now is the most important moment to give attention and patience to the child, do what he tells you and give him the time and patience he needs”, explains psychologist Lenke Iuhoş.
2. He will close himself in and stop communicating. “If those cries for help are not heard, the children will resign themselves and eventually stop communicating with those around them. In the next phase, they will repress their feelings and experiences and will no longer look for help from their parents, but will look for new ways to fill their inner emptiness. All these unmanifested inner feelings, which the child experiences, will have repercussions in adulthood, where the child, who has become an adult, will continue to adopt unhealthy behaviors and habits, through which to satisfy his unfulfilled needs in childhood, through: involvement in toxic relationships, consumption of alcohol, drug use, infamous entourages, etc.,” declares psychologist Lenke Iuhoş.
How can we restore childhood to our little ones?
The psychologist believes that the least effective strategy a parent can adopt is to suddenly remove them from technology, this will bring even more confusion into their lives. Children need a calendar of activities, through which they can discover their hobbies and new methods of entertainment than those offered by the mobile phone. “Today’s children have not been given the opportunity to observe new ways of enjoying life, new means by which to build a healthy and balanced relationship between virtual and real life. Children do not have the ability to make beneficial decisions for their emotional development by themselves, therefore they need parents in this regard. He can bring him more often to the park, to the playground, to the green grass more often, on an expedition to the mountains, he can enroll him in a sports club (karate, football, swimming, gymnastics, etc.). He must not be abruptly removed from his lifestyle, but he must be shown an alternative way of living his life, so that he makes an informed decision”, concludes psychologist Lenke Iuhoş.
