Age of information

One day, I was at my brother’s place. My niece and nephew, ages 8 and 5, were watching YouTube in the internet. Geez, I have heard about that highly popular thingy but have never seen one myself. Sometimes, less information = less problem. I shudder at the thought of all that’s interacting with them.

My, the information age is expanding so fast that it is hard for parents to catch up with their kids sometimes. With so many controversial ideas and value systems from so many different sources so easily accessed, information sometimes confuses rather than provide a clear guidance. How do you bring up children with the right values, attitudes, perspectives and character? When you yourself are relatively confuse sometimes, how do you instill the "right" ones? Isn’t it amazing that the little bits and bytes can become such lethal weapons.

Having the "right" values, by itself, is questionable. What is "right? Why does it matter, whether right or wrong, when in this world, many things that were wrong are now "right". And what’s behind you when you think that your children need to be “right”?

Afraid of how people will look at you?
Seek acceptance by people for them as well as for yourself?
Does this seem that the “right” thing is just for the sake of others rather than themselves?

I think being “right” is for myself. How do you achieve happiness and peace? One must first have the “right” values, perspectives, attitudes and characters. How many people you know are unhappy because of some perspectives that they have? Take simply the perspective of an old lady who thinks that hospital is a scary place where people never come out again after entering. She will be suffering when she has an ailment that can easily be cured – all because of a distorted perspective.

I wish my children can be happy and at peace always so I wish they can learn to have the “right” values – values that will make them happy and peaceful. When they are “right” with themselves, they will be “right” with others.