Yearning for attention and affirmation: “Gen Z” Generation

There is pin-drop silence in a typical Kenyan home. The four-year-old last born is glued on the TV watching her favorite cartoon, the pre-teen is on the house phone watching a popular Us-based make-up show while the older teenage brother is hooked on some online games.

A mother, back from work at 8 pm, frantically knocks the door but nobody answers. After several frustrating knocks, the house help emerges from the bathroom in a hurry and opens the main door ‘’How come none of you opened the door yet I have knocked for hours," the mother complains. But the children stare blankly at her like she is from another planet. We did not hear you knocking the trio echoes back innocently. That is the typical scenario in marry Kenyan homes during the holiday season as children are glued to gadgets, for hours on end, oblivious of what is happening around them and it is now a cause for concern. When schools close and young ones are at home, instead of playing and socializing with their peers as is expected, they are glued to gadgets, from tablets, to laptops and smart phones Unlike in the past when children would play themselves dirty on vast playgrounds during the holiday season, now things are different and it is worrying experts.

Ms. Juliet Gikunda, a child psychologist, says there is a serious problem that needs urgent attention: A study published last month by the Pew Research Centre, indicates that about 38 percent of teenagers in the US acknowledge that they spend "too much" time on their smartphones and social media plat forms. The same scenario applies in Kenya.

Safety concerns

" It is dangerous when we give children too much freedom to use our gadgets and go online but we do not monitor their activities hence exposing them to safety concerns," says Gakunda who also manages Karan Children's Vocational Centre in Kikuyu. Ms Gakunda admits that though times have changed and parents cannot stop their children from using technology, they can still ensure that they use screen time meaningfully.

There is a need to define the boundaries as technology use has its advantages and disadvantages, the expert cautions.
"We have noted that the children are spending too much time on the screens, they are becoming socially awkward, withdrawn and want to have their 'me time’ with their gadgets, and when you wade their privacy they become aggressive.

When you check parents’ WhatsApp, TikTok or Facebook status, you find teens anal youth speaking their minds and expressing their emotions. It is like they are crying for attention. If there was a safe space at home where they could pour out their feelings and be listened to, they would not be all over social media, says Gikunda Teenagers and adolescents are posting their pictures on social media sites to seek affirmation and validation from strangers "This is dangerous as we have had seen instances where teenagers have committed suicide because they were cyberbullied through negative comments on their social media posts," Ms Gikunda observes.

Authored by Millicent Mwololo, Nation Media Group
With such a weak relationship between children and their parents, the former seem to find solace in alternative “online community support system” which is largely unregulated. From a very early age, most youngsters discover social media as the exciting alternatives to their absent parents. Indeed, it has become a routine practice for parents to buy gadgets for their children in guise of facilitating online studies/research projects.
Once online, the young minds delve into the depths of discovery hence, they are bound to engage with strangers some of whom are emerging or convicted paedophiles or child traffickers who offer the most attractive conversations and promises which become the new pathway to self-destruction for the young minds minds. Other youngsters end up joining dangerous groups which epitomize success through grooming, drugs, crime, pornography and gaming (betting). It is the easiest manner through which child traffickers subdue the young minds

With such a weak relationship between children and their parents, the former seem to find solace in alternative “online community support system” which is largely unregulated. From a very early age, most youngsters discover social media as the exciting alternatives to their absent parents. Indeed, it has become a routine practice for parents to buy gadgets for their children in guise of facilitating online studies/research projects.
Once online, the young minds delve into the depths of discovery hence, they are bound to engage with strangers some of whom are emerging or convicted paedophiles who offer the most attractive conversations and promises which become the new pathway to self-destruction for the young minds. Other youngsters end up joining dangerous groups which epitomize success through grooming, drugs, crime, pornography and gaming (betting). It is the easiest manner through which child traffickers subdue the young minds

Cyberbullying causes mental instability in children, which manifests in symptoms like anxiety attacks and withdrawal. "In a bid to cope, some fall in to drugs, become anti-social, get depressed and experience lack of sleep or too much of it. Parents may notice a different behavior pattern in the children and for some, if medical attention is not sought, they might end up com- mitting suicide." Owing to the pressures of life, many parents are finding themselves too busy to parent their children.