Every generation is obligated to have a foundation for which proceeding generations can follow. We have a duty to preserve the innocence of adolescence, but to prepare them for the world of adulthood.
At an individual level we are inseparable in our commitment to our children. We praise their imagination and reinforce their dreams that unearth new life to a world predicated on change.
Yet at an institutional level there remains negligence in representing the beliefs of the people who they are intended to serve.
The digital age has brought forth an unprecedented amount of innovation and in spite of its good there will always be the few, frothing at the opportunity for greed despite the negative implications of the individuals who invest in them.
This is the world of social media. A world glamorized in all its perfection and demonized for every inkling of negativity.
And for the human mind, this can come across as engaging. For the platforms themselves an opportunity to leverage the data of millions of people, through algorithms that amplify our deepest fears and insecurities, slowly chipping away at the critical thinking and imagination that we were applauded for possessing as children.
Now comes a generation of children, trending towards higher levels of mental illnesses with the expectation of stepping into adulthood with a teetering foundation beneath them.
This is the world of social media. A world that impairs the developing brain from the expression of self and an inability to differentiate between the falsified realities to which these platforms seamlessly have manifested.
There is no place for this in our education system as it contradicts the nature of what the education system is intended to represent.
There is no environment better equipped to opportune students to develop social, creativity, and critical thinking skills.
We ought to value its sacred nature and create a SafeZone that will allow the next generation of students to flourish.