What Does The Indian Youth Lie About?

They constitute 65% of the population of the country and yet they have to lie about several things only because of the fear of not getting accepted. The perils of being totally outspoken are just too high, and not everybody is a daredevil to not bother about being shunned by the society. The societal pressure is so much that it has invariably started governing the way we should ideally behave.

Under this pressure, the youth feels there are various things they have to lie about and there are several reasons for each one of them, let’s have a closer look –

Drinking and smoking – The tag that one gets immediately after accepting that they drink and smoke is too scary to let anybody go in front of their parents and admit it defiantly.

Dating – There is just too much drama attached to being an Indian and suddenly the entire world feels entitled to have an opinion about their love life. The youth today cannot muster the courage to go up to their parents and disclose their love life.

Sexuality – And let’s just accept that talking about your sexuality with your parents is a little too complicated, it’s accompanied by various whats, hows and whys. Homosexuals and bisexuals feel it is almost impossible for their parents to understand them and hence, choose to not speak about it at home.

Thoughts and beliefs – They may not be as religious as the older generation is, and they might not have faith in the institution of marriage, but accepting it in front of others will only lead to detailed discussion. So, why not avoid the whole thing and just lie about it.

But what is the need to lie?

Parents won’t understand – the most clichéd reason for any lie, since forever, has been that the parents just won’t understand, they think differently and this is just not normal for them.

They don’t want to disappoint their parents – The youth today will die, but wouldn’t want to disappoint their parents, so they hide anything that they feel is even remotely disappointing.

We have an image to protect – And who, if we may ask, decides what the image has to be like? Obviously, the society. The society defines normal and abnormal, right and wrong and pleasing and repelling.

Individuality is underrated – There is no such thing as individuality in India, if you have to live in the society, you have to be like the society. Ratification from the society is of utmost importance.

People are too quick to judge – Before you’re even done with what you have to say, you will end up with 10 different tags from 10 different people. People seldom think how this can affect the psyche of a person.

What can be done?

Parents should become understanding – Give your kid a chance to express him/herself, they are your kids, have faith on your upbringing and see the immediate change.

Accept the change – Well, better late than never, accept that the society and hence, the youth is changing. Let them experiment and figure things out. All they need at this point is a lot of support and people who would smile at them every once in a while.

Think before you judge – the youth doesn’t think like you, they have a very different way of looking at things. So, just for once, step into their shoes and see the world from their angle. Understanding nature can mend everything.

Stop forcing your kids – You should be happy that your kid is unique, stop forcing the kid to conform to the societal norms every time. Give the younger crowd a break and see how they all come out as winners.

Hence, you should be the change you wish to see in the society. The youth is not an extension of the already existing society, they are different individuals and we cannot afford to let more than half of our population lie every day. Let’s change things for good.

Image Courtesy : https://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02740/liar_2740802b.jpg