This morning I came across an interesting article in NSTP by Chok Suat Long, New Sunday Times editor called 'Miley, a role model no more for young'. No, I am neither a Hannah Montana nor Miley's fan that had me glued to the article. As I went through the writing, I could not help but recalled the hu-ha on Miley's previous performance in 2013 VMA on Facebook. There were even clips from the performance but no, I never watched them. I only did this morning on Youtube and God knows how much I feared for the parents who's daughters idolised Miley or Hannah Montana or just into pop cultures. The performance featured Miley clad in nude colour latex bra and hot pants, and dancing in a provocative way (suddenly I feel so elderly when I had to use the word 'provocative'). If I'm not mistaken, it was kinda something to do with 'twerking' (google, please. I'm trying to keep my blog U-rated). I guess Miley is shedding her good girl image following the steps after Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and now Selena Gomez is looking at the same direction. How come I know all these? Well, I am a parent as well. I may not have a daughter yet, but all these do catch my attention as well. But that's not all.
I do have concerns with the teens programs or shows from the west. I don't have to point out the assortment of fashions that they promote but its the values that they bring to the table. Thumbs up to the good values of sticking up to friends and family or become straight A students. How do you think with the attitudes of talk back screaming to parents, sarcasm to the elders and parents, bullying other people (mean girls. ring a bell?) to name a few. Let me quote some from the article.
"Indeed, there is a whole new generation of youngsters who think nothing of talking down to adults or taking a condescending tone with their elders. They are just emulating their role model"
"It is not just lacking in the music world. The cartoon universe these days is also filled with dark, brooding anti-heroes; characters who bleed when injured-kids who sneer at adult authority. The children portrayed in cartoons have adult issues, and often talk and dress like them"
"which is why it does not come as a surprise, too that many children now have no qualms dropping f-bomb and any other words that would even make the most foul-mouthed rapper blush"
Could anyone relate to these?
I only have an 18 months old son and now he is just into toy cars, picture books and nursery rhymes. No, I am not exhaling my relief just yet. You see, my son knows how to operate the Ipad and Youtube all by himself. He may not know how to read but he sure knows by tapping on the screen, videos will pop out. I'll be damned if one of the video that he tapped popped out Miley-VMA kinda videos and messed his brain out. First of all, he's a boy and his brain is like sponge taking absolutely anything without any filter. I will most certainly faint if he suddenly burst out 'twerking' moves when his nursery rhymes songs play.
Hang on, before you all come out pouncing like a hungry lioness saying Ipad is no good, will make him addicted, will make him go crazy etc, we are both working parents who are still figuring out on how to compartmentalise our energy as the day leave us with one red blinking bar in our energy cell hence the Ipad is to keep our boy quiet and sit by us. However, we made it up by enrolling him in a daily playschool so he could be 'normal'. Hey, we are trying our best, ok?.
We were all teenager once and we used to have issues with our parents. We adore our friends and dissed our parents and God knows how much our parents have put up with us. They understand adolescents, enough said. The difference is that our parents did not have the luxury of abundant information access except through our friends or being a stalker themselves compared to our time now with all these social networking lots. We may ought to watch over our children and their whereabouts. Although my son is only a toddler now, I have some degree of nervousness and anticipation when he reach his teens in the next 11 years! paranoid? which mother doesn't?
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