Many of the concerns of NZ youth in their 14 to 15th years is all to do with ‘image and likes’ – it all involves smartphones and messaging and being and staying relevant within their peer group.
Notes from this important interview:
This was a real insight for me as a person in their 70’s.
Here is the gist.
Just living for the present is essentially where they are at. Nature and whales for example - are not really an issue.
He says that global warming is on the radar but not that big as yet – Greta Thunberg is not yet big - though some of the young girls have started to put out a ‘care’ on their smartphones as to sort of – look relevant - not so much with the boys – but some have … He also mentions that some will ‘put out’ that they care – but actually they will not take any action. So if there is a ‘viral concern’ this would be it.
As for the future – that’s still a way off – it’s essentially having fun and it's girls, guys and partying - and then there is school and academic studies.
Stating that when they hit 25 years of age - they may have another look at what’s up and what is important.
Relationships between guys and gals – he says after a long in-breath – are not good. He puts it down to social media – texting to each other – there is not a lot of communication that is grounded in a good vocabulary – how?
He says we should not blame social media – it’s how we are using it (all the time) that it has changed lives and promotes things – but he says other things have festered out of it – and there are pros and cons – and as a result of social media - relationships are quite messy.
Jesse says he is in a relationship and dating a gal, and he is not into texting to her. He wants to talk with her, see her expressions on her face, the tonalities of her voice - as well as body actions – and he says you just can’t get this out of text.
Sex between the younger generation – is in his words - messy.
The girls in many ways to remain relevant – it is all about relevancy – and many may succumb to exposing themselves. So texts and photos that are intimate are often unscrupulously passed around - and this sort of thing comes back as a vengeance and many embarrassing situations occur. It’s a lose-lose situation – but to be relevant– it continues to happen.
Covering sex, pregnancy and abortion … Suicide - listen
Instagram – now does not show likes on posts … to stop people comparing themselves with other people's ‘likes’ this is to curtail negative feelings and even suicide – such is the need for many of the youth to compare themselves with others - but they are still ‘worried’ about getting the most likes …
Most of the youth are on Instagram and snap chat plus the new one coming up called tick tock – it’s a 'lip synching' app. He said some youth are still on FB but not as much as the others.
When asked if the younger generation feel fortunate – especially to be living in NZ – and the answer is that in most cases the youth of today are so caught up in their life with its drama, frustrations and challenges that they do not see themselves as being fortunate. Even though NZ has so much physical beauty, as well as freedom of speech that a lot of other countries don’t have. NZ is a fairly peaceful country too. A majority healthy country !! Youth are so fortunate here - but they do not take time to realise it.
When asked about God for today's young teens – to admit to God – it is considered and embarrassment – listen to this …
Karma – he personally believes in this – that good things and good vibes generate good things and good vibes … but, it is not prevalent as a word in the daily narrative of present day youth. He himself does good by just doing life with no expectation that he is going to receive some wonderful good karmic event – he is just basically doing life and doing it without any expectation ...
Baby boomers – he is not hard on them – as he sees his generations as not doing a lot as well.
5G tech – that the baby boomers are concerned about but what of the youth of today who are wedded to 4 G? What is youths take on 5G? Essentially unaware of the health risks etc. However he himself is very aware of what these new technologies can cause.
Rubbish on the footpath and rubbish on the beach – Jesse – picks it up. Is happy to be a role model. But, this too is not an issue.
Covering transgender issues – especially males entering females races and weight lifting and winning is this fair? – the challenge around transgender toilets – listen
Parent's – how he is very close to his parents and love is warmly expressed. They love each other. When asked about his friends relationships with their parents, he said that there is a lot of difficulty at that level. However, he gets on really well with all his friends parents.
Communication skills need to be taught especially around being able to coherently express oneself. Verbal skills he says are very important. That it is imperative for good communication - as far too many people are being caught up in the minutiae of millennial problems. Alcohol is a huge problem – not weed.
I came away from this interview basically very concerned about the focus of today’s teenage youth. It's as if a huge manifested bubble based on a construct of social media habits perpetuates itself to compel youth to think that having a new smartphone and texting each other is all that is relevant.
This is where we as a country need to address the concerns of our young ones and this has to be led from both the grass roots and from leadership at the very top of our country.