Not quite haiku, not quite senryu…

I was requested to write a piece by the editors of PRERNA, the annual magazine brought out by  the Shri Ram College of Commerce`s National Service Scheme.The topic was Life in Progress: From an Anxious Generation. 

I started off writing an essay on this wired and already weary lot of Gen Z youngsters made famous by Jonathan Haidt  in his book The Anxious Generation. Midway, I stopped. It was reading somewhat sanctimonious, and was more than anything else, an overview. That didn`t seem rightt to me.

So I decided to write some poetry instead, something I had not attempted in decades. More importantly, I was going to write from the perspective of a young anxious Gen Z person, trapped in a prison of expectations/pressure, vulnerable to dashed hopes, crushed aspirations, unwitting neglect by the older generations, their outstretched hands neither being grasped or held. Add to the mix the social media blitz which is more banethan boon, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Here is the result……

Let`s begin with some statistics.

Today, 398 million young people use social media in India. According to a study compiled by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in 2023, teenagers spend more than 2-3 hours on platforms like Instagram and YouTube.

Probably the most alarming characteristic observed in a young Indian student is social media addiction. Reports indicate that 27% of teenagers in India develop features of social media dependency leading to a lack of concentration, bad academic output and mental illness conditions, according to a recent report from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore.

Continuous demands of checking notifications, posting updates, and scrolling feeds form a pattern of instant indulgence, thereby causing reduced productivity and increased alienation.

Overexposure to screens also triggers sleep disorders; more than 40% of the students in India say that they have not managed to get a good night`s rest because of extreme late use of social media.

Beyond the academic and the physical aspects, social media addiction most commonly destroys youth’s self-esteem.

 

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1.

There`s a new book out

Studying my tribe, observing, calculating, calibrating                                               

I`m feeling exposed.

 

2.

Dadi says I ought to invest more in religion

That faith will show me the way

Except, I don`t know what way I am supposed to be seeking.

 

3.

So much discussion on being wired

Connected yet disconnected

I`ve left my charger at home, my phone`s dying,  and I`m frantic.

 

4.

Exams to pass, courses to take

Jobs to land, a lifestyle to carve out

These days, I wake up gagging.

 

5.

So much dinnertime talk expended

On that TV show dealing with adolescence

When was the last time anyone asked me how I was doing?

 

6.

Not my child, I hear my parents say

Words like self-harm, depression, bullying float in the air

And I marvel at their blind confidence.

 

 

7.

Go back to play-based childhood, they say

Go out for a walk with friends, go play some basketball

How to tell them I`m always excluded from these activities?

 

Learn from life, Papa says

Learn from experiences, Mama says

Well, if these are life lessons, I want out!

 

9.

Yesterday, Mom went on a coffee date with me

It was fun, we were able to chat about a lot of things

Let`s get real, I tell myself; knowing Mom, this could well be a one-off.

 

10.

We are going to control your screen-time, they said

It`s for your own good, they said

It`s good they don`t know about my other phone.

 

11.

Parents and teachers ought to be role models, I read somewhere

They ought to be our support systems

Except, they are busy fighting their own battles and doing a bad job of it.

 

12.

Kick back, chill, relax, they tell me

This is the time to enjoy your childhood

Yeah, right. I`ve seen what happens when I bring home an F.

 

13.

You need to work on your Math, Mrs Bhalla says

You need to work on your conversation skills, Papa says

You need to make better Reels, my friends say.

 

14.

Greta is anxious about the environment

My father is anxious about the sliding economy

Me, I`m anxious about well, everything.

 

If I hear one more time

That childhood is special

I`ll snap. My shoes are feeling very tight.

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