I want my child to compete with his fellow kids alone, not with their parents (if he ever wants to compete with anyone).
What do I mean?
Kids competing with the parents of other kids?
Does it sound ridiculous? Does it not ring any bells? Continue to read. You will understand when you finish.
The idea of kids competing with other parents could sound strange to some people. But, it practically happens in the society where we live.
I, myself, competed as a kid with the parents of many of my friends. It was the fate of many of the kids of my generation who were first-generation learners like me.
I do not want the same fate for my kid or any other kids. So, I think it is my responsibility to shed some views about a burning issue. So I write this article.
Please, vote for my kid on Facebook or YouTube
There are many social media posts by parents everywhere in social media requesting to vote for their kids in a given competition.
During the holy month of Ramadan, this trend remains to be prominent among the Sri Lankan Muslim community for the last few years. This trend has further accelerated after the outbreak of the Covid crisis.
There are various sorts of competitions.
The requirement for these lockdown competitions is usually recording a particular work by the kid in a video format. Such work could be singing or reciting the Quran. Then, you should send it to the competition organizers.
These organizers upload the videos on their YouTube channels or their Facebook pages. Then, the winner is selected based on the likes and dislikes the video receives.
There could be slight differences among different competitions in the process of selecting winners. Nevertheless, counting the likes (votes) is one of the crucial parts of this whole process.
We must appreciate in the first place the good intention and the efforts of these organizers to take out the skills of kids. Most of these organizers are young adults. At the same time, I must humbly point out that the process that leads to the selection of winners does not fulfil the noble intention of the organizers. What this voting system practically does is, testing the social influence of the parents. It evaluates the propaganda skills of the parents, not the talent of the kids.
Most of the YouTube Channels or Facebook pages where these videos are uploaded are NOT popular channels and do not seem to have remarkably regular traffic. Hence, the parents are the ones who promote the videos of their kids. They appeal for votes from their friends, families and acquaintances.
Does the most number of LIKES mean a kid got the actual talent?
Of course, not. Getting more likes only shows the ability of parents to carry out their publicity and propaganda.
The ones voting for a video do not vote because they like it. Sometimes, they do not even watch it. They vote just for the sake of voting. They think they support a kid within their social circle.
In a nutshell, we can say that the real competition occurs among parents, not among kids. It is a real injustice to the kids who are from weaker backgrounds.
Equal opportunity argument
Someone could argue that everyone got an equal opportunity to carry forward their propaganda these days, so the only talent does matter in these competitions. But, it is unfortunately not true.
The technological revolution has doubtlessly reduced the digital divide among us to a remarkable extent. However, the status divide and the inequality in the real world society still exist and will always exist (which I believe is a test of God in this worldly life).
Social media is simply an extension of our real-world presence. When you are authoritative in the real world, your words matter in the virtual world as well.
For example, both President John Biden and my friend have Twitter accounts, probably with similar privileges.
Both President Biden and my friend could express their opinion with a single tweet. Technically speaking, both of them got the equal opportunity.
Does it mean both the tweets of the President and my friend will have the same sort of impact on the world? No. Why Not? Because the President is a powerful man in the real world, so his words do matter. If you rephrase it, the President is powerful in the virtual world because he is powerful in the real world.
This very straightforward real-world scenario is sufficient to understand the baseless myth of the equal opportunity argument.
The truth is the opposite. When you are affluent in the real world, your words matter in the virtual world.
Some might think that this is an extreme example to compare President Biden with one of my friends. However, the power divide existing among different categories of people is incredibly vast in the local context.
Think of wealthy business people, influential social activists, famous figures for one or another reason, people with strong family backgrounds and other ordinary people. Do they stand on the same ground?
Every parent falls unavoidably within one of these categories. They could stand at a certain point in the spectrum of social influence and enjoy the power advantage over the other. This very reason makes the ability to carry out the propaganda widely different among parents. These Facebook and YouTube competitions among kids eventually become a battleground for parents to test their propaganda skills.
We will get back to the subject matter of YouTube and Facebook competitions.
Kids should believe that they will be able to win when they have the talents to win, not because of the status of their parents.
The realization of kids that they will be able to win only if their parents are influential enough is morally dangerous for the kids from both spectrum of life. Although this inequality is the reality and status quo of the world we live in, our kids are too young and immature to accept it.
Let our kids spend their childhood at least in a world of imaginary equality.
A request to the organizers
The main point of this article is to request the competition organizers to rethink their selection process in a way that has nothing to do with the influence of the parents of these kids.
From a marketing perspective, these competitions are the most ingenious way to promote your channels. However, it has ethically serious loopholes that need our attention. You should rectify this marketing strategy if you are earnestly socially responsible.
Socially irresponsible strategies could provide some short term success though, they are not successful in the long term, even from a marketing perspective. We have to remember that it is only a matter of time the parents realize the injustice their kids face in these competitions.
Few Words with Parents
Let me have a few words with the parents as well. Please, refrain from racing with other kids.
Do not allow your kids to race with other parents, either. It is what happens in practice, in these sorts of competitions where there is a voting system. Alternatively, some parents have opened their channels or pages and have been uploading the works of their kids. It is a commendable effort. After all, opening a YouTube Channel or a Facebook with basic features page will cost nothing.
Let us appreciate the constructive behaviour
Let me remind everyone that it is the responsibility of everyone to encourage the constructive work of these competition organizers. Most of them are probably teenagers or young adults.
We do not appreciate constructive activities with the same spirit as we tend to criticize destructive things.
I hesitated to write this article for this particular reason despite my dissatisfaction with these competitions for a long time.
Finally
I said at the beginning of this article that I competed with the parents of my fellow kids. I can read the mind-voice of many people whether YouTube or Facebook was there right back then. YouTube or Facebook was not there. However, the basic idea of competition and the burning desire of the parents to make their kids victorious remains the same across the generations.
Riza Jaufer
Kandy - Sri Lanka
Kids competing with the parents of other kids?
Does it sound ridiculous? Does it not ring any bells? Continue to read. You will understand when you finish.
The idea of kids competing with other parents could sound strange to some people. But, it practically happens in the society where we live.
I, myself, competed as a kid with the parents of many of my friends. It was the fate of many of the kids of my generation who were first-generation learners like me.
I do not want the same fate for my kid or any other kids. So, I think it is my responsibility to shed some views about a burning issue. So I write this article.
Please, vote for my kid on Facebook or YouTube
There are many social media posts by parents everywhere in social media requesting to vote for their kids in a given competition.
During the holy month of Ramadan, this trend remains to be prominent among the Sri Lankan Muslim community for the last few years. This trend has further accelerated after the outbreak of the Covid crisis.
There are various sorts of competitions.
The requirement for these lockdown competitions is usually recording a particular work by the kid in a video format. Such work could be singing or reciting the Quran. Then, you should send it to the competition organizers.
These organizers upload the videos on their YouTube channels or their Facebook pages. Then, the winner is selected based on the likes and dislikes the video receives.
There could be slight differences among different competitions in the process of selecting winners. Nevertheless, counting the likes (votes) is one of the crucial parts of this whole process.
We must appreciate in the first place the good intention and the efforts of these organizers to take out the skills of kids. Most of these organizers are young adults. At the same time, I must humbly point out that the process that leads to the selection of winners does not fulfil the noble intention of the organizers. What this voting system practically does is, testing the social influence of the parents. It evaluates the propaganda skills of the parents, not the talent of the kids.
Most of the YouTube Channels or Facebook pages where these videos are uploaded are NOT popular channels and do not seem to have remarkably regular traffic. Hence, the parents are the ones who promote the videos of their kids. They appeal for votes from their friends, families and acquaintances.
Does the most number of LIKES mean a kid got the actual talent?
Of course, not. Getting more likes only shows the ability of parents to carry out their publicity and propaganda.
The ones voting for a video do not vote because they like it. Sometimes, they do not even watch it. They vote just for the sake of voting. They think they support a kid within their social circle.
In a nutshell, we can say that the real competition occurs among parents, not among kids. It is a real injustice to the kids who are from weaker backgrounds.
Equal opportunity argument
Someone could argue that everyone got an equal opportunity to carry forward their propaganda these days, so the only talent does matter in these competitions. But, it is unfortunately not true.
The technological revolution has doubtlessly reduced the digital divide among us to a remarkable extent. However, the status divide and the inequality in the real world society still exist and will always exist (which I believe is a test of God in this worldly life).
Social media is simply an extension of our real-world presence. When you are authoritative in the real world, your words matter in the virtual world as well.
For example, both President John Biden and my friend have Twitter accounts, probably with similar privileges.
Both President Biden and my friend could express their opinion with a single tweet. Technically speaking, both of them got the equal opportunity.
Does it mean both the tweets of the President and my friend will have the same sort of impact on the world? No. Why Not? Because the President is a powerful man in the real world, so his words do matter. If you rephrase it, the President is powerful in the virtual world because he is powerful in the real world.
This very straightforward real-world scenario is sufficient to understand the baseless myth of the equal opportunity argument.
The truth is the opposite. When you are affluent in the real world, your words matter in the virtual world.
****
Some might think that this is an extreme example to compare President Biden with one of my friends. However, the power divide existing among different categories of people is incredibly vast in the local context.
Think of wealthy business people, influential social activists, famous figures for one or another reason, people with strong family backgrounds and other ordinary people. Do they stand on the same ground?
Every parent falls unavoidably within one of these categories. They could stand at a certain point in the spectrum of social influence and enjoy the power advantage over the other. This very reason makes the ability to carry out the propaganda widely different among parents. These Facebook and YouTube competitions among kids eventually become a battleground for parents to test their propaganda skills.
****
We will get back to the subject matter of YouTube and Facebook competitions.
Kids should believe that they will be able to win when they have the talents to win, not because of the status of their parents.
The realization of kids that they will be able to win only if their parents are influential enough is morally dangerous for the kids from both spectrum of life. Although this inequality is the reality and status quo of the world we live in, our kids are too young and immature to accept it.
Let our kids spend their childhood at least in a world of imaginary equality.
A request to the organizers
The main point of this article is to request the competition organizers to rethink their selection process in a way that has nothing to do with the influence of the parents of these kids.
From a marketing perspective, these competitions are the most ingenious way to promote your channels. However, it has ethically serious loopholes that need our attention. You should rectify this marketing strategy if you are earnestly socially responsible.
Socially irresponsible strategies could provide some short term success though, they are not successful in the long term, even from a marketing perspective. We have to remember that it is only a matter of time the parents realize the injustice their kids face in these competitions.
Few Words with Parents
Let me have a few words with the parents as well. Please, refrain from racing with other kids.
Do not allow your kids to race with other parents, either. It is what happens in practice, in these sorts of competitions where there is a voting system. Alternatively, some parents have opened their channels or pages and have been uploading the works of their kids. It is a commendable effort. After all, opening a YouTube Channel or a Facebook with basic features page will cost nothing.
Let us appreciate the constructive behaviour
Let me remind everyone that it is the responsibility of everyone to encourage the constructive work of these competition organizers. Most of them are probably teenagers or young adults.
We do not appreciate constructive activities with the same spirit as we tend to criticize destructive things.
I hesitated to write this article for this particular reason despite my dissatisfaction with these competitions for a long time.
Finally
I said at the beginning of this article that I competed with the parents of my fellow kids. I can read the mind-voice of many people whether YouTube or Facebook was there right back then. YouTube or Facebook was not there. However, the basic idea of competition and the burning desire of the parents to make their kids victorious remains the same across the generations.
Riza Jaufer
Kandy - Sri Lanka
