Is young India emotionally insecure ?

One quick look at the number of committed profiles in Orkut or for that matter any personals site gives out interesting results. Almost a third of young India is 'committed’. Though 'committed' doesn’t necessarily translate into being 'insecure' , it definitely tells a lot about changing patterns in the way young India looks at relationships.

I am reading freakonomics by Steven Lewitt these days and its quite possible that I am being influenced by his method of looking at numbers with an unusual eye. Another surprising fact is the rising number of 'committed' school kids. A worrying trend?

India is going to be a nation of youngsters. Demographic data suggests that more than fifty percent of our population is going to be under thirty by 2020.No doubt that Young Indians are making it big in almost all fields and the average working Indian is a lot more confident than the one say a decade earlier. But still, there definitely seems to be something amiss. At least that's what data suggests.

I have always maintained that there exists two sections of young India now. One born pre-1985 and the other post that date. This demarcation makes sense cos the former has seen pre-liberalisation India .The latter has made sense only of the Manmohan era. Liberalisation was not just an economic phenomenon. It bought along with it important socio-political changes. The impact of which is being felt today when the latter generation is stepping into its twenties.

For the average student these days, there is just too much to learn and come to terms with. As a five year old, my brief was little more than to learn 'Good habits vs bad habits' from my class 1 teacher. The class 1 kid today has to put up with computers,start making out what mobiles are ,keep track of latest releases of play stations ..Etc.Etc.

Grow up a little bigger and peer pressure rules. Cut throat competition amidst pressures of a booming economy creates more hunger pangs. All this can very easily lead to insecurity and bring about a need to explore newer avenues for emotional security.

Think it’s high time we relaxed mounting pressures on young India and worked towards a holistic growth path for them. Lets first secure their philosophical underpinnings. They can take on the world later.