On the move

IS ISOLATION GOOD FOR TEENS ?

During the lockdown across the world they had been forced to stay inside and apart.I know very well they were socially connected through their cellphones , facebook and other social media.But can it really replace or satisfy the act of being together as friends ? Can social media tools replace the need to belong ?

Locked down ?Youngsters feed  on real  sosial activities , even if is just with a friend listening to music or sitting together telling jokes.They love to sit around on the corners of streets and shop , hanging around in parks.

I have a teenager at home  and watched his behaviour during his time.He is connected in a limited group of friends and is actually an introvert.We must also keep in mind the personality of the teen.

But is isolation ward Covid 19 a new experience for teens ? For years some teens isolated  themselves from the harsh enemy , bulliyng.

But today I want to focus on social bullying , to exclude some people from your group.Certain groups believe they have to be look – alikes and  dress- alikes .As teachers we literally see this everyday and how the victim reacts on exclusion.We try our best to councel both the bully and the victim .We teach  issues  about the subject and make sure to  include appropriate texts in our  lessons.This is a great way to eliminate or decrease bullying amongst teens and society , but what happens outside our reach where parents and teachers are not present ?

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Social bullying has a very nasty effect on the emotional side of a teen as I have seen it happening to my own children and many others I’ ve seen in my teaching career.Their faces sometimes shows the evidence of exclusion. It became sad and without emotion.They sometimes have anger outbursts at home or at school.These outbursts are then interpreted wrongly by the parent or teacher , because we are not aware what is happening in the life of the teen.

As teachers we have to do more to attribute to eliminating this evil amongst children inspite of our load of work.

As parents we should be constantly in prayer for our children and other youngsters and pray for their protection and how to handle these attacks.

I know there are many expert advice on this topic that are very informative, but I do have personal experience what social bullying can do to a teen.And it worked !

I hope you’ll find my experiences helpful .

In my next article I will talk more about how to handle these situations.

Challenger