A few days back I was busy searching for a subject that might strike the thoughts of people.
I thought I would write about the adolescent problems. After a long search, I found out the fact that a large percentage of teenagers use various dating sites. And the reports given online continued to surprise me.
The very next day I browsed for teen dating sites and found many out of which I chose one, initially. They asked for a nickname. ‘Deepika’, I entered a common Indian name. Next, I had to choose the age category. 13 to17, I completed that task as well and was waiting patiently to see what would come up next.
‘Hi’, suddenly popped up a private message. You may read parts of our conversation.
“Hello”, I wrote back.
“How r u?”
“I am fine. And u?”
“Fine. ASL?”
“ASL? What’s that?”
“Age Sex Location.”
“Oh! 15, female, India. “I was guilty for using my country’s name there.
“Okay, I am from USA.”
“O… good”
“Why are you here?”
“Hmm… first tell for what u r here?
“I asked first”
“Okay… I am here to make new friends and u?” I lied.
“I also to talk and have new friends”.
He asked about my hobbies, interests, and how I looked like. All those queries could be answered.
Soon the tone of the conversation changed. “What are you wearing now?” Ha! Why should he know that? Anyway I answered, “Pants and t-shirt”.”Doesn’t u wear miniskirts”? No, I do not. Again a lie, “Yes I do wear”. “How short?” It went on and he wanted to know about my undergarments, even! Why? Why? Why?
It continued and messages turned to be seriously bad and I cannot jot down all those things here as this is a family-friendly blogging site and I am cultured. But I can tell you, I felt like running away on hearing the questions and situations he raised. After chatting with him for quite a long time I made an assumption – “Ah! America is a developed nation and different from India. I think this is what is happening there. Can teenagers be so bad? But my Indians possess values”.
I closed the conversation and that was when I realized there were a dozen messages from other guys. I was shocked. They were worse than the previous one. In fact, my heart was about to faint after answering all their questions. ‘Quit girl’, my heart faintly murmured. No, wait. I have to stay here for some more time.
I understood that Indians were equally worse and were raising questions to which you would turn your faces. You would slap on their faces when you see them explain about unwanted things. I switched to male mode only to find girls also engaged in this chatting disease. No one is better. Later, I tried other similar sites and was defeated by the same plight.
How should I explain my feelings? “I wish we were together so that I could… “Yes, I was thrown away to a red street (red-light district). Many wanted to converse with me via Skype and mobile phone.
Enough is enough. I gave up and sat silently. India, United States, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Myanmar…. And even from my own province, God’s own country, Kerala.
It’s high time the Governments take action against such sites and ban at least the dating sites for teens.
Are these the future Albert Einsteins, Mother Teresas, Gandhijis, Hellen Kellers, and Nelson Mandelas? Are those boys going to be the next Newtons? Are those girls going to be the next Florence Nightingale or Marie Curie? Lady with the lamp. Huh!
I fear what would happen to our generation, the pillars of our world. There are many other sites and many more ways to get to know each other. What is there to be entertained so much? Don’t evolve to become a lost generation. By entering into these unhealthy talks children are losing their innocence and teenagers are losing the best part of their life. The hours they should spend exploring the world before them are wasted in the midst of this negative cyber world.
Friends, if you had ever entered such sites, forget all about it. If you’re still using it, let this be the last moment you sell yourself to others, free of cost. When you enter into such vulgar conversations you lose your identity and credibility. Remember, Almighty is always watching you. And everything hidden will once come out. There should never be a situation when your parents would have to stand ashamed of you, with their heads lowered.
Let there be a powerful and committed generation. Pits are many, I confess. Chances are multiplying, I realize. But life is only one, you understand.
Note: Image used in this post is only for representational purpose.
