Adolescence: A Time To Define Identity

Adolescence is the crucial stage of life and the time to explore one’s identity. Teenagers experience rapid changes in body, hormones, emotions and cognitive abilities during adolescence. At the same time, they realize their roles in society including their careers, values and gender role. During this stage adolescents are faced with physical growth, maturity and integrating ideas of themselves and about what other people think of them. There they wish to discover their identity during their teenage years.

During teenage years many students face identity crises. An identity crisis is a necessary turning point and a crucial moment in teenage life. Erik Erikson an American psychologist has coined the term ‘Identity Crisis’. According to Erikson, “an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself.” An identity crisis is the failure to achieve ego and identity during adolescence. An identity crisis occurs at any time in adult years when faced with a challenge to our sense of self. Those who are in an identity crisis are in confusion. They often seem to have no idea who or what they are, where they belong and where they want to go. They withdraw from normal life and do not take any interest in schools and colleges.

They remain in a permanent state of crisis and aspire to achieve fame in the public and among their contemporaries. If they are unable to become popular, they join some groups to satisfy their ego needs. Adolescents therefore form their self-image and endure the task of resolving the crisis of their basic ego identity in multiple ways. To deal with identity crises, they often turn to negative activities like indulging in drugs. Everything during adolescence stems from curiosity like smoking, drinking and inclination towards watching pornographic videos. Gadget haze is also seen at its threshold during adolescence which hinders face-to-face communication.

If someone has an identity crisis, it is more susceptible for him to have a negative identity than no identity at all. Peers have a strong impact on the development of ego identity during adolescence. They form an association with negative groups like drug addicts for developing ego during adolescence. If a person faces these crises he loses interest in the values of life.

    Today, youths developing self-image deviate from the normal course of life and often go astray. It is important to think about the identity during teenage period. One should possess a strong identity. A strong identity emerges not only from the contemplation of life’s purpose but also from successfully positively adapting developmental challenges of life.

Adolescents should not turn to the wrong path for satisfying ego needs.
Developing a self-image and achieving fame is necessary but one should not compromise with one's integrity and values. Adolescents should always try to communicate with their elders and accept the roles and values handed down by their parents.

Parents should always assist their children if they face any kind of confusion or crisis. They should ensure that their children are not involved in negative activities and wrong groups. Students should also not focus only on making identity and fame instead should make persistent efforts to achieve their goals. They must understand their roles as an adolescent. They should spend time with positive people, acquire knowledge, skills and values, and learn new and innovative things. This will take them to new heights and they will get success and recognition in the world.

Growing Old: An Inevitable Phase

                                                           

 Growing old is a mandatory and natural part of life. A man is compelled to go through the pain and pleasures of this phase of life before making an exit from this mortal world. Indeed there is no stage of life which has ever smooth sailing and every stage has its attended problems, but the struggles of old age are difficult as the physical strength and mental capacity are immensely reduced. Growing urbanization and fast-moving modern life have changed people's mindsets. With the passage of time family values are degrading and old persons are suffering who are dependent on their families and require love and care.

The old age is full of loneliness and the situation becomes more adverse when old people are left at home without anyone who can attend them. This is the outcome of the disintegration of joint family system and declining of tradition and moral values. This situation brings tremendous mental suffering to old persons, some are though economically independent but they require affection from by young. Today the family unit is breaking apart and the joint family system has come to an end as young men and women travel widely in search of better jobs. So the old folks are left alone and are neglected. Sometimes they are not wanted by their children at all and they have to live their lives away in an old-age home or in their empty house that once was filled with the sound of children’s laughter.

Earlier, when life was simpler and values counted for more, those who reached a ripe old age had an important place in society. They were respected and taken as a source of inspiration for youngsters. But today values have vanished and anyone is hardly bothered about them. This abandonment is a real problem in our society and it is what the old dread the most that is being uncared by their beloveds in their time of need. There are other problems old folks face, but none can be as bad as the disregard of the young.

Old persons are full of knowledge and their experiences are of immense help to the younger generation, but still, they are taken as an unwanted burden. Family members and especially youngsters should be in constant contact with the old people and take care of them. They should be concerned about them and take their responsibility. As our elders took our responsibility when we were small, now it's our duty to take care of them. They helped us to grow and have shown us the path of life so it’s our noble duty to be with them until their last sight.

                                             

21st Century: An Era of Technology

The twenty-first century has witnessed phenomenal advancement in technology and has become an integral part of our lives. Technology has developed to a great extent and is playing a vital role in the world. The digital revolution has created remarkable changes in society. Today, people are not confined to one place but can connect and know about the world within a fraction of a second through technology. Technology is widely used today as a source of entertainment, knowledge, communication and global reach. It has had profound effects on the working of the business world, professionals and students. With the digital revolution new gadgets and equipment are emerging and are getting mass appeal by youngsters. They have a high craze of Android mobile phones, tablets; PC and laptops.

Today having a smartphone has become a ‘status symbol’ as a result students are losing interest in their studies. We often hear them complain about procrastination and being unable to concentrate on their studies due to spending a large amount of time on smartphones. They spend their considerable time on various applications like Facebook, WhatsApp, social networking sites, games etc. They have become slaves of technology and are hardly interested in their studies consequently going astray.                                   

In the words of Albert Einstein,” I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” It is very true in the case of technology-addicted people. If they continue to be technology addicts they would surely turn into idiots as for them technology is only used for entertainment purposes and not for acquiring knowledge. Technology has both good and bad implications. People should use technology for acquiring knowledge, skills, information and learning new and innovative things and not for mere entertainment purposes. With the use of technology, life is simplified and people are solely dependent on it and want ‘minimum effort, maximum comfort.'

They fail to enjoy simple pleasures of life like watching a sunrise, hearing birds chirping or smelling the fragrance of flowers. They have become addicted to the latest technology. Simple life is almost unimaginable today. One cannot think of spending twenty-four hours without technology like smartphones and the Internet. In an age where time is so precious, technology is a revolutionary way of improving the quality of our lives as it allows people to complete more tasks in less time and with less energy. Though technology and inventions have made our lives better it has also created adverse effects due to their reckless use. Technology is very useful; provided one uses it carefully and productively.

Commonsense: Most Uncommon

Commonsense is very uncommon in common people. Have you ever heard of wet water, black darkness? Indeed, we often look upon common sense as a blind instinct. It is a quality that neither wealth nor learning can confer on a man. So what is common sense actually? It is a sound practical judgement that is independent of specialized knowledge, training and normal native intelligence. It is supposed to come as a gift from above, and that one is inborn. Common sense is only the combination of experience with intelligence. It’s an ability to use experience to meet immediate circumstances. It is practical wisdom applied to common life. It implies swift decision, and a capacity to do the right thing without fumbling. If a man is to have only one sense let him by all means have common sense. For without common sense, he is of no use at all. He may know how to do the job, but to be successful he must apply that knowledge effectively using his commonsense.

Tact is the gift of common sense and it is more important than talent. In the practical affairs of life, the value of common sense is great indeed. It helps one to make the most of one's knowledge and experience. Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American essayist and poet, once said, “Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes." There are many people in the world who are smart and intelligent. However, not all have common sense. It is true that ‘common sense is after all, not so common.'

Many people, especially those who are educated, take common sense for granted as they believe that the world runs based on the concepts found in their encyclopedias and books. Sadly, this is not the way of life. In fact, ordinary people and those with an average Intelligence Quotient (IQ) may have more sense of the ‘real world’ than someone with a degree or a high qualification. Those who are well-educated and are bookish may not necessarily be smart. Where book learning confuses and misleads, common sense may stand him in good stead. Because it is born of experience, it comes easily to the common man who works with his own hands.
                             
Common sense is what makes for permanence and continuity and sweeps away much that is merely eccentric and out of the way. It governs the day-to-day life of a man. To survive in the world, one needs skills and knowledge. But only having knowledge and skills doesn’t make a successful person until it is accompanied by common sense. Educated people often make mistakes not because they lack skill and knowledge but because of proper judgment. Without proper judgement and commonsense education is baseless. One must use his commonsense to deal with day-to-day situations and problems effectively. Knowledge comes from Schools and colleges but to be a genius in the real world one should have practical judgement and commonsense. It is more important to have Common sense than knowledge. The use of commonsense is essential to achieve success in life.

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