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| Even though life is prosperous, if there is a lack of mutual care, many people will feel lonely in their own home. Illustration: AI |
Invisible distance
Technology 4.0 brings many outstanding benefits, such as: shortening geographical distances, helping family members communicate quickly, supporting remote learning and working... However, if not used properly, the negative side it brings is also very large. Most notably, it creates a "psychological" distance between relatives. When technology replaces direct communication, emotional connections will be eroded over time.
Ms. TTB, a Literature teacher and head of the school counseling team at a high school in the province, shared: One of the reasons why many students seek out teachers to share and confide in is the lack of attention and closeness from their parents. Some students cannot talk to anyone in their family, especially their parents. Many students have tried to tell stories about friends, teachers, academic pressure... but all they receive in return are admonitions, lectures, or sometimes indifference from their parents.
Many children seek comfort from social media, chatting with strangers, and even AI - like ChatGPT - to receive virtual messages of encouragement. Some children, due to lack of emotional support, fall into a state of depression, withdraw, and live in isolation. In class, they just sit in a corner, not caring or talking to anyone.
However, when teachers talk to parents, while some are seriously aware of the problem and have made changes, many have an attitude of excuses, blame, or think that their children have grown up and become introverted.
Not only teenagers, but also young children are increasingly affected by the lack of family connection. This poses a necessary requirement ineducating parenting skills and each person needs to be conscious of spending a certain amount of time with the family.
bland meal
The lack of mutual care is not only present in urban areas but has also spread rapidly to rural areas, where family culture is still considered to be more cohesive. Parents being too busy with work or dependent on technological devices has caused them to lose their role as true companions to their children.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa, a civil servant, shared her family story: My son is 19 years old this year, my daughter is 16. Before, when they were in middle school, they used to tell stories about school every night. But since entering high school, my daughter has gradually become withdrawn, coming home and closing the door in her room. I tried to get close to her, inviting her to go out for drinks, shopping to chat, but most of the time she refused. I blamed her for not being interested in or close to me lately, but she said that all her classmates were the same.
It is true that many families today are gradually losing valuable common spaces, including family meals. If in the past, meals during the day, especially dinner, were often the time for family members to gather, chat, share joys and sorrows of the day, helping parents understand their children better and vice versa, now many families no longer pay attention to that.
There are families where parents and children do not eat a meal together all day, or even several days. There are families where they eat together but no one talks to each other, or when the children want to talk, the parents are engrossed in watching TikTok…
Then, the distance grows and becomes a habit. The worrying thing is that in their own home, children feel lonely, and parents also feel empty. Many parents do not even know what grade their children are in, what exam they are taking, who they are close to... That is why, when children ask to go to a friend's house to play, it is late and they have not returned, parents do not know where to find their children; there is no phone number of any friend to ask.
More heartbreakingly, there are students who get pregnant and give birth without their parents knowing; there are students who have been sexually abused multiple times but do not dare to speak out for fear of being scolded or retaliated against.
As Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Binh, whose child is in 11th grade at Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted, said: If you keep being absorbed in work and neglect your child, you may lose everything in the future.
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| Happiness only comes when there is love and sharing among family members. Illustration: AI |
Reconnect love
That said, not all families are like that. There are still many homes that maintain care, listening and love. There, parents talk to their children every day; husband and wife share work; siblings study, play and grow up together. With just a small sign, parents can realize that something is wrong with their child.
To return to that simplicity, we don't need high-tech, just daily actions: meals with all members present, phones put down, loving eyes for each other and small questions every day. Parents should be friends with their children instead of being the ones giving orders.
If necessary, parents can even play games with their children, watch clips with them, and then open up conversations. Don't be afraid to share your difficulties so that your children can learn to sympathize and share.
In addition, social organizations, unions, and schools also need to contribute to creating playgrounds and forums for interaction between parents and children. Organizing seminars, parenting skills classes, family extracurricular activities, sharing images of parents' hardships and toil... are considered practical ways to gradually mend the fading bond in many homes today.
We are living in a modern society where everything can be “digitalized”. But emotions, especially family affection, cannot be replaced by technology. Each family needs to proactively recreate a space of true connection between members. Let’s start with the simplest things: sitting down to eat together, listening to our children, sharing our daily joys and sorrows. Don’t let one day, when we return to find the warmth of our family, we realize it’s too late.
Let technology be a bridge, not an invisible wall that separates family members.
Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202506/gia-dinh-thoi-40-gan-nhau-ma-van-cach-xa-0923371/
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