Windows on the World

Ted. I have noticed something here in Morocco that we have seen all around the world. Young people in every country we visit seem to spend an inordinate amount of time staring at electronic devices. I have been surprised to see that kids who may live with their entire family in a one room house still find a way to get access to a smartphone and wifi.

A young Moroccan woman that we met said she believes that parents in Morocco face the same Internet issues as parents in other countries such as violence and sites that make a game of suicide.

I can’t help but wonder if there is another downside in developing countries. In theory, surfing the Internet gives the young people lots of useful information that their parents could never access. However, they can also watch videos of a world they may never see. So what must they think as they watch a French film or the latest episode of an American TV show or a crazy YouTube channel. 

Most people that I see in developing countries seem very happy. They don’t have the material goods that so many crave elsewhere but they do have rich and full lives centered on their faith, family, friends and work. This is more like the US of my youth, before stress, violence and drug use (both illegal and psychotherapeutic) became the norm. 

Are the young people of Morocco and similar places developing new ideas of what happiness is supposed to look like? As always, responsibility for educating the children of the world falls largely on the parents. This task cannot be getting any easier.