From time to time, a movie, a play or a TV show, or a piece of news, triggers a global and healthy discussion about really important issues. Now it’s the turn of the Netflix series «Adolescence», which has given us plenty of food for thought. That stage in life has always been hard, a turning-point, but nowadays it looks even harder. There seems to be a gap between teenagers and adults that’s getting wider and wider worldwide. We might think our kids are safe at home, locked up in their bedrooms, but that’s not true. There’s the Internet now, an open door to a risky universe we tend to ignore. Let’s be honest, though: we, adults, are also compelled to check our phones all the time, as if our lives depended on it. Therefore, we don’t set a good example either. We’ve lost the healthy habit of casual conversations over a dinner table. We’re all too busy running from one place to the other, earning our lives, trying to make ends meet, too distracted maybe, and don’t notice our kids and grandkids need much more than pocket money and a plate of food. I know there’s no parenting manual and we all learn by trial and error, but we should do our best to face this crucial challenge, for their sake.
Buenos Aires Times, April 19, 2025