By Oyintutu Oyinkolade
Some Stakeholders have expressed mixed reactions over online trend “Train Your Parents”, which shows cultural rift between Gen Z and older generation.
The stakeholders disclosed this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
NAN reports that the trend started with viral videos of young Nigerians challenging elders over public conduct and home training.
Reacting to the trend, a sociologist, Mr Steven Okanlawon, said the trend is a sign that society is gradually degrading and humanity is losing its values.
Okanlawon explained that unlike rural areas where everyone follows rules, big cities are a melting point where culture is always changing for worse.
“My honest opinion on the trend is that society is gradually degrading and humanity is losing its values.
“That’s why something abominable like this can trend without people raising alarm”.
“Urban life is a melting point for many cultures and values because urban life has no fixed culture and because culture is transient.
“That’s why we see the continuous evolution of urban culture, albeit towards the negative” he said.
He added that young people often view elders as aggressive, leading them to return the hostility especially when there are no direct family ties involved.
“The younger generations see them as aggressive and they return the aggression especially if these elderly people have no blood or direct ties to them”, he said
Reacting to the trend, a lecturer of Mass Communication at Adekunle Ajasin University (AAUA), Dr Ishola Lamidi, argued that the problem starts within individual families.
Quoting a Yoruba proverb, “Ile lati n ko eso re ode” (Charity begins at home), Lamidi said the behavior of the youth can be traced back to their upbringing.
“It’s a matter of individualise upbringing, Yoruba says, “Ile lati n ko eso re ode” (Charity begins at home), So when you see some youth misbehaving, then you can easily trace such a misbehavior, you know, mostly to their upbringing”.
“Well, the mode of approach of such an elderly person may not sit well with you, but that is not enough reason to insult or to engage in a fight with an elderly person.
“It bespeaks moral decadence in our society, and this is an unwelcome development”, he said.
He added that for Nigeria to have a balanced society, parents must take the responsibility of guiding their children.
“And I believe that our parents should learn a lesson from what happened and give their children proper upbringing so that we can all have an egalitarian society that you and i can be proud of,” he said.
Also reacting to the trend, a student of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Doyinsola Blessing, explained that the trend is a pushback against unsolicited control.
Doyinsola added that the phrase “Train Your Parents” is intentionally blunt, flipping the usual narrative elders always use.
“It’s blunt for a reason, We’re basically saying If your parent or elder doesn’t know how to mind their business or talk to people properly, that’s on you people not me.
“It’s flipping the usual narrative, as they always say “you lack home training,” so Gen Z is like, check your own house too”, she said.
Another youth, Opeyemi Charis, noted that the decision to speak up is rooted in a desire to protect mental and emotional health.
According to her, many things normalised by the older generation were actually painful and damaging.
“We’re speaking up because of what we saw and went through while growing up. Some things were normalised but were actually painful or damaging.
“We saw how silence affected people mentally and emotionally, and we don’t want to carry that same pattern,” she said.
She added that, the goal is to help elders understand that their reality is not the only one.
“We mean teaching them that their opinion on decency and societal norms is not always right.
“The way they were raised shaped how they think, but times have changed.
“We’re trying to make them understand our reality”, she said.(NAN)
Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi
