There was on her Instagram a harmless photo uploaded. Actor Parvathy, who played a real life character called Kanchanamala in 'Ennu Ninte Moideen' had gone to watch the film with the real Kanchanamala. Their photo, she shared, with excited comments, ‘Close to 100 days of running, I cannot think of a better way to celebrate!’ More comments came from visitors on her page. From ‘U done it parx’ to ‘A big salute’, fans had pretty much said it all.
But then there came the twist. One visitor, in three words, had managed to wreck all the love in the air. In Malayalam, he wrote what would translate as ‘Go poop’. Cuss words coming to celebrity pages, is not news, but the celebrity picking that out of all the lovely words for her, and reacting to it, is.
Parvathy’s reply starts thus: “Congrats on being the representative of the most uncultured 16-year-old this generation.” That’s right, the boy is just 16. At a time when there is a lot of talk about the juvenile accused in the Nirbhaya case being let free, this young man’s go-poop comment raises an important question: What is happening to the youth of India, and especially of Kerala?
In Kerala alone, the cases registered against juvenile offenders had increased from 773 in 2013 to 1203 in 2014, according to a report.
“There’s more crime, not just by juveniles but in general. There is a lot of influence by the social media,” says J. Sandhya, member of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. “Problem is the frustration that comes out of all the restrictions and controls children face otherwise, in school, in society, at home. There is hate, anger, revenge. All that negativity they take out on cyber space. Children may not even be looking for sexual content, they may be searching for a game site, and such content would be pushed onto them. We don’t interfere and then blame the children.”
Psychiatrist Dr C.J. John airs similar views. “New technologies are easily accessible and youngsters find a false confidence in the anonymity it provides. They think they won’t be caught, and teenage is an age of risk-taking behaviours. That’s the age you form gangs and start drugs, liquor and drug pedalling to make some money. In cyber space, it becomes more. Today they are attracted to a luxury oriented-life that comes with eating out, owning a good smartphone.”
But you don’t solve the situation by calling them bad boys or girls, Dr John adds. “You should take corrective steps, make a sensible reaction. Accusing will not help. Like in this case, if the actor had instead written to him to discover the goodness in that 16-year-old boy, it is bound to touch him. That kind of reaction will not only be an insight for the boy but also everybody tracking that post.”
Actor Minon John is only 15 but speaks with a maturity well beyond his age. “It is a bad situation. This is the reason I don’t have friends here. Many of them are going the wrong way. They think it is cool to update their cigarettes to ganja. I make sure none of this affects me. I learn how not to live my life by watching these kids.”
He has also been using a computer for a few years now, and went onto use Tablets and iPhones. “I find a certain joy in using it. Others may find other kinds of fun. If your finger touches a different place, it opens a whole new door that’s been forbidden to you before. How to use it, you know through good education.”
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