By Promise Adiele
There is a widening revolution in our world spearheaded by the demographic cohort globally referred to as Gen Z, short for Generation Z. This group of people, young, vibrant, and dynamic, born between 1997 and 2012, are different in many ways. They are largely defined by their tech-savvy, internet, and smartphone consciousness, having been born during the information technology boom. In multiple ways, Gen Z, which mostly comprises students and young adults, is emotionally, psychologically, and perceptibly ahead of their older generational counterparts, widely identified as Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996. The larger bracket of Gen X, short for Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980, are mostly parents who have the onerous responsibility of raising and nurturing people within the Gen Z and Millennials bracket. In an ever-changing world, there is a growing concern among parents, teachers, and guardians about the moral degeneracy pervading various social spaces in every corner of the globe. In these times, parents, teachers and guardians, shocked at the evident turn of events among the Gen Z age bracket, resort to religion through prayers as a remedy to the intractable malady.
Disturbingly, the resort to religion through prayers of different categories has not helped much to contain the level of moral decay among Gen Z. It seems the more religion and prayers are employed to curtail the Gen Z maniac, the worse it gets. It therefore calls for a change of strategy from parents, teachers, and guardians who are sometimes recipients of these anti-social, abhorrent behaviours from the Gen Z community. The Gen Z legion is more expressive, defiant, independent-minded, and shows an unusual awareness beyond their ages. They are restless and indulge in vices such as sexual immorality and perversion, drugs, fast life, ingenuity in both positive and negative ways, and a craving for materiality which belies their quest for discovery and independence. The more parents, teachers, and guardians try to curtail the excesses of Gen Z, the more they devise ways that defy explanation. Indeed, they know more than the preceding generation, especially parents. But parents will never agree. The big question is – why is Gen Z having the upper hand in the battle with their parents, teachers, and guardians? Why does Gen Z gravitate towards negative tendencies more than positive behaviour?
The first challenge can be gleaned from the application of the same moral codes which produced parents, teachers, and guardians. For example, when Gen X were growing up, beating, physical assault of the child, and sundry crude methods of correction were fashionable. In churches, it was preached that sinners would go to hellfire. Threats of starvation, withdrawal from school, and excommunication from the family were all employed to ensure that children conformed to family and parental expectations. These methods worked like magic. Religion, churches and cultural ethos also played important roles in shaping and nurturing the child. Sunday School was compulsory, and missing it earned one some slaps or the withdrawal of some benefits. Mums slapped at will. Fathers inflicted pain as it pleased them. The threat that one would be reported to the father for wrongdoing was like a death sentence. Talking when parents talked or reacting in any way when parents talked was an abomination. The school teacher was second to God, and life moved on seamlessly. With Gen Z, it is a completely different scenario. They are wired to be rebellious and constantly challenge the status quo. Unfortunately, parents, teachers, and guardians have woefully failed to understand that times have changed. They still apply the old methods in treating a new generational reality.
These days, when children are physically assaulted, they get used to it and dare the adult to beat them more. When parents talk, Gen Z ask questions and demand explanations for everything, that is, for those allowed to ask questions. For those not allowed to ask questions, they simply keep quiet and do what they have in mind. In this age, Gen Z does not have regard for life. Suicide has become rampant. At the slightest provocation, a motherly or fatherly scolding, poor performance in school, or the slightest setback, they take their lives. Recently, a seventeen-year-old girl took her life because she failed the UTME. Out of frustration from parents, guardians and teachers, Gen Z turns to drugs and disappears from home as a demonstration of independence and coming of age. Expelling or rusticating them from school has not produced much result. Arresting and throwing them into jail toughens them and complicates the whole situation. Their craving for money and materiality is inordinate. Their knowledge of everything operates at a supersonic speed. Every young boy in Nigeria knows every footballer playing top-flight football in Europe and the clubs they play for. Many of them need the knowledge for betting and gambling.
Can religion and prayer check the excesses of Gen Z in contemporary times? I believe in the power of prayers, but unfortunately, many people have abused that sacred spiritual practice by frivolously disturbing God with all the mundane pastimes of humanity. It has become an almost irresponsible spectacle to see people pray over minor things that God has already given them the power to accomplish. Many people think God will subvert His laid down ordinance in creation to satisfy their whims and caprices. Therefore, instead of people taking responsibility and acting with the power God bestowed on them, they mindlessly disturb the host of heaven with their trivial requests, which only amuse God. Why has immorality increased among Gen Z despite all the resort to religion and prayers by parents, guardians and teachers? Why are more youths taking to drugs, sexual pervasion, gambling, internet fraud, violence, rape, stealing, robbery, and other deviant attitudes in contemporary times? In every church and mosque, the youth wings overflow with thousands of youths, and as soon as they leave the church or mosque, they embrace immorality in pursuit of the vanishing illusions of life. There is something churches and mosques are not doing right.
Many parents have abysmally failed in the basic responsibility of taking care of the children God gave to them. They outsource this all-important responsibility to boarding schools, house maids, and private universities. When these children develop in the wrong direction, the same parents resort to religion and prayers, disturbing God and blaming the devil for their neglectful attention towards their children. Teachers and lecturers in various institutions cannot adequately explain the horror they encounter with students who fail to demonstrate basic standards of morality. When the usually quiet, taciturn boy or girl gets involved in an unbelievable moral misconduct, everyone is shocked. It is usually an outburst of years of neglect from parents. When such things happen, parents bring down the roof and seek whom they will ‘deal’ with around them. Indeed, many parents, by their failure to be parents, contribute to the moral putrefaction in society. It is an unrighteous attitude for parents to fail to take care of their children. So when they resort to prayers as a response to their failures, the prayers, even before they are uttered, become an abomination to God.
As a Christian, I believe in hellfire. I believe in the Biblical narratives about death as the consequence of sin and eternal damnation in hellfire. But can we say that Gen Z believe in hellfire as a consequence of sin? Does it make sense to them? Can they rationalize it? If we advise these people against bad behaviour and use hellfire as a deterrent, we may be wasting our time. We must change the method and preach what they can identify and understand. We must quit making them believe that they can attain success by merely claiming it without letting them know the rigorous process leading to success. When we do this, we exonerate them from their failures. As parents, guardians and teachers, we must let them know that they have a crucial role to play in their success. We must stop celebrating Satan in their lives and start celebrating God. We must tell them the beautiful things God has done instead of constantly reminding them of the power of the devil and what the devil is about to do. We must quit threatening them with the devil, but show them the love of God.
Instead of shouting and threatening them, we must dialogue and show them understanding. Instead of focusing on their weaknesses, we must focus on their strong points because every child has a strong point. Not all children will do well in school, the ingenuity of some of them resides in other vocations. Parents, guardians and teachers must change their approach in dealing with Gen Z because they are products of a different stock. Many times, Gen Z legion resorts to bad behaviour to get back at society or their parents. There is a story of a young girl who confessed that she deliberately failed her courses in university, so the university would withdraw her because her parents forced her to study a course she didn’t like. In her part two, the otherwise brilliant girl was asked to withdraw due to poor performance. She won. Comparing children with their mates will not produce any results. Applying outdated methods towards Gen Z will never change the moral deterioration in society.
Dr. Promise Adiele is of the Mountain Top University, and can be reached via promee01@yahoo.com; X: drpee4
