DJ COMMUNITY

Is It Just Me, Or Did Anyone Else Notice That Kids Are Growing Up Too Fast These Days?

"bad little girl"

The other day, I was browsing my Facebook newsfeed and I came across a video. But not just any video, one that was very disturbing. The clip depicted a little boy, no older than three, positioned in-between a woman’s legs, humping and pumping. And he wasn’t doing just any ol’ movement, little man was flipping it up, smacking it, rubbing it down and switching positions. It even got to a point where he pulled out his little thang thang and acted as if he were prepping for penetration. Mind you, he couldn’t have been any older than three.

A few weeks prior, a random little boy requested to follow me on Instagram. As I browsed his photos, trying to figure out if he looked the least bit familiar, I was greeted with pictures of everything from tables full of alcohol and weed to images of machine guns and him throwing up gang signs. He even posted a message ranting about girls wanting him to have their babies. This little boy had to be a pre-teen (tsk-tsk, he shouldn’t even have an Instagram). To say I was appalled isn’t even the right word to use.

On TV you see little girls weighed down with make-up, prancing around in big girl’s clothing, showing too much and covering too little. Just log into YouTube and videos of under-aged girls booty-shaking and “twerking” are right at your fingertips. I even see friends and associates of mine with their little sisters or daughters who they let pose inappropriately in pictures and post them online for everyone to see. Am I the only one who thinks this is disturbing?

But with the ubiquity of immature parents, technology, sex, drugs and violence, it’s easy to understand why these things go on. The music that pumps from our radios is filled with hyper-sexualized lyrics, videos and TV shows promote violence and negativity, and the media praises half-dressed celebs with good looks, even better fashion, but no real substance. Kids are soaking this up. And their parents are letting them.

I can’t count how many mothers and fathers I know (particularly young ones) who sit back and allow their children to rap the lyrics of their favorite (and inappropriate) rap song and even encourage it. The same parents who permit their kids to hang around adults, all up in grown folks conversations, talking back and staying up all times of the night. When I was a kid, if I even thought about jumping in an adult conversation, I would be met with the back of a hand.

So yes, kids today are growing up way too fast in my opinion. And here’s where the problem lies: there is no respect. No respect for adults, no respect for peers, nor respect for themselves. Our children are not being taught to value much. They are studying superficial representations of women, memorizing the misguided illustrations of men and trying their hardest to imitate what they see. Kids today are more concerned with the names on their clothes, the size of their butts and breasts and looking “cool” (by exercising uncool habits like smoking, underage drinking and indulging in drug use), than developing their brains and valuing their inner-selves.

Some are even being allowed to use profanity, disrespect and dishonor their elders and pay no regard to what’s most important in life, and it’s not looking cute on Facebook or Instagram. Our little one’s, aka, the future, are depreciating their value, and don’t even realize it. But they are only a reflection of us, the adults. We stand by and let it happen, so what does that say about us? Hmm.
The children are the future, right? Well if that’s the case, our future isn’t looking too bright.