Anxiety : A Constantly Degrading Gen-Z Problem...

Since the beginning of 2012, a time when smartphones entered Indian market in leaps & bounds, something has changed. This is the time when the early Gen-Zs (born between 1996 to 2001) were in their high-school years, mid Gen-Zs (2003 to 2007) were in their primary-school years & lower Gen-Zs (2008 to 2012) were in their Childhood years. 

Gone are the times of Nokia, when phones were used for calls, messages, alarm clock & snake games. As time passed phones grew smarter. The design focus shifted from general utility to user experience. Then from user experience to addictive user experience. 

Powered by cutting edge chips, high end software designs, AI insertion & rigorous software updates smartphones grew from basic to prime to ultra-prime. While this is a boon for a majority of generations, like the millennials, who have the necessary self control to use them with caution, the younger generations (Gen-Zs & lower) had to confront something totally alien. 

A time when Gen-Zs were in their formative & vulnerable phases, they were struck by this hurricane of online world. And the result ? A severe collapse of patience & attention span; a severe surge of Anxiety disorder, depression, hopelessness & suicide rate.

Anxiety has been a constant partner of humanity since the beginning of times. While anxiety has remained the same, the frequency & magnitude of anxiety has gone from strength to strength. Personally, I have experienced it a few times too. So I can promise what I am going to share has its roots in authenticity. 

As per psychology & yogic science, their is the MIND & their is another part of mind that CONTROLS it. Let's call it the MASTER for the sake of discussion. On a typical day ideas & experiences keep flowing into our MIND on a regular basis. When the MASTER participates in thinking over those ideas, it makes sense of those ideas & extracts meaning, conclusion & a broad range of feelings. However, the behaviour of these 2 minds change drastically when we engage with smartphones. 

Imagine a high-school student, who uses smartphone to watch video lectures. While watching lecture, one of his friend sent him a WhatsApp message asking to play Battle Ground (online game). He left study & played game. Bim bim bim. Again, bim bim bim, for 2 hours. After playing game he wants to come back to study, but his MIND isn't ready to co-operate. So he decides to keep scrolling reels. 

Suddenly he gets a WhatsApp message from School asking him to finish Assignments by next day. So how does he do ? He cheats. He asks his friends for the answer copy, then copy-paste. On top of that, if you add other online activities like consuming adult-content, movies, then the picture gets even more darker. 

Now imagine this vicious cycle playing in his mind for years. What happens to this mind ? Exactly that happens when we consume medicine in high dose. SIDE EFFECTS. When such a formative mind is intercepted by such a high dose of information it reacts with a range of side-effects like Anxiety, depression, anxiousness & hopelessness. This is a critical phase, because this is exactly the time when the MASTER LOSES CONTROL OVER THE MIND. And trust me, this is deadly. 

The MIND operates like an independent entity, where ideas come in such a high rate that they collide among themselves to anticipate future possibilities, which in reality might never come. Tension grows under the weight of prediction & finally these side effects come down to physical scale. 

Heart rate grows high due to fear, blood flow spikes resulting cold feet & within few days body weight falls significantly upto the point where it becomes a medical emergency. That's how you get a patient of Anxiety-disorder. 

How probable do you think it is for a teenager to comeback from this state of mind to a healthy stage ? In my opinion, very very very less. The pain grows so high that the only affordable solution seems to be suicide, which by the way, is confirmed by the range of statistics we have been receiving since 2012. If Gen-Zs are in such a stage, then don't even get me started on those who were born after 2012. 

To be honest, I am less concerned about the Gen-Zs. I am more concerned about the post-2012 kids, whose childhood is spent in a 6-inch screen. No outdoor games, far less peer connection & a limited view of the real world. To make things worse, oneday these kids will start a family & some of them will even try to rule this nation. Sadly, I can't imagine how ? 

So dear future mommies & daddies, how are you going to raise your kids ? By handing them this 6-inch killer machine or a big fat football ?