In one family, a child was playing football with his younger brother in the garden. While the ball was stuck in the branches, he tried to free it and a small thorn lodged in his finger. The child screamed loudly and panicked as though something dangerous had happened.
His mother rushed to help him and remove the thorn, but his fear persisted, so she decided to call his father, who took him to the emergency department. There the thorn was removed easily, a small bandage was placed on the wound, and the matter was over within minutes.
But the story did not end there.
The child took out his phone, photographed his bandaged finger, and posted the picture on his social media account, writing: "Pray for me — I survived, and they performed a complex operation on me in the emergency room."
Within a short time, comments, messages of sympathy, and likes poured in. Friends he had not spoken to in some time returned to engage with him, others showed great concern for his condition, and some shared the photo as though it were important news worth following.
When he returned home, his mother noticed a broad smile on his face and asked him why he was so happy. He answered: "Today is one of the most beautiful days of my life — everyone cared about me and interacted with me."
This story may seem amusing or exaggerated, but it reflects a reality experienced by many young people of the new generation. For some children and adolescents, social recognition is no longer tied solely to direct relationships or real achievements; it has also become tied to the number of likes, comments, views, and followers.
The standards of attention have changed in today's world. In the past, a child sought words of encouragement from his parents, teachers, or close friends. Today, the phone has become an open window onto an entire world of instant interaction, where a simple post can give its author a fleeting sense of importance, acceptance, and belonging.
Over time, this feeling may turn into a recurring psychological need, prompting some to seek out any content that attracts attention — and sometimes to inflate or exaggerate everyday events in order to generate more interaction.
The problem here does not lie in social media itself, but in relying on it as a primary source of self-esteem and sense of worth. It is unfair to compare this generation with previous ones or to content ourselves with criticising it. Children did not create this digital environment themselves; rather, they found themselves born into a world in which smartphones and social networks have become part of daily life.
We are the ones who provided the devices, we are the ones who introduced technology into the details of our lives, and we are the ones who allowed digital platforms to become one of the most important tools of communication, entertainment, and influence.
The solution, therefore, does not lie in outright prohibition or constant rebuke, but in awareness, guidance, and building balance. We need to strengthen genuine sources of self-worth in our children and encourage them to pursue sport, hobbies, social activities, and real-world achievements that give them a lasting sense of accomplishment — rather than depending on electronic interaction that can vanish in an instant.
In this context, the United Arab Emirates deserves recognition for its ongoing efforts to regulate children's access to social media platforms and to take measures that help protect the young from the negative effects of unregulated technology use. Building a generation that is psychologically and socially balanced is no less important than building one that excels academically, because the future needs young people who possess digital awareness as much as they possess knowledge and skill.
The child who rejoiced over the thorn was not happy about the pain — he was happy about the likes. And therein lies the message that deserves our pause.