~Diabolic Competition~

I’d like to begin my article, by discussing a very simple word- competitive. The word- competitive has developed a positive connotation. And this is to such an extent that those who lack that element of competitiveness are even being perceived as individuals having a lesser capability, in harsher terms- losers. While I do agree that the presence of competitiveness is essential to forge ahead and herald development especially when the stakes are so high today, but the essence of the word seems to be getting misted by us as it is being entwined in the lives of children at a horrific rate. Yes, young ones, far from the brink of adolescence.
It takes a strong voice and marvellous confidence to sing in front of an audience comprising the entire country. I am talking of the new trend of music programmes that have really beckoned the average child to put forward not only a voice but also their self-respect. Truly, the selection procedures themselves are demotivating enough for some and those who chance to make it through are swept away by an invisible tide of competition, fierce and gruelling. Is it fair to be selected amongst a hooting flurry of revelling audience and be called a prodigy first and then some two months later being thrown away from the show under the garb of elimination?
Well, according to me television programmes are unknowingly instilling in the young ones diabolic competition that too in some of the most irking ways ever! I agree that children want to see themselves on national television, but do they also want to see their families stricken with pestilence and their peers heaving with grief once they are conveniently eliminated?
Childhood is being lost in the murky reaches of competition. Since when did being a child involve literally begging votes from the nation and being idolized as a raunchy national sensation? It is not wrong to expose yourselves at a young age, but if the exposure is holistically yielding and safe, then not only is it less traumatic, it also sustains the essence of talent.
Moreover, children are being made to behave like ‘crafted adults’ and this appearance is rather incongruous. I remember seeing a little boy on television one day and was rather awed by his spirit. He spoke flawlessly on issues pertaining to love and told us his own love story (which I personally don’t think is true) and backed it up by pecking the host and showering flying kisses at the audience! The entire sequence was followed by a riveting song that urged a ravishing trot of hip shaking and made the audience whistle! Is this what parents really want to do? Do they want their children to be mollycoddled by the entire nation so that one day when their little one loses, the trauma shall shun the talent inside him/ her?
So, who is responsible? Well, according to me, a very large motivator of this diabolic competition is the media. Families have inculcated this halfway and the media that is airing such programs on television meets the other half. So, competitiveness no longer remains personal, it is being transmogrified into a social issue that demands sensitivity and care.
Really, this arena of competitiveness is rather intimidating. How can I forget what I heard some time back on one of the popular music shows; the brother of a seven year old spoke “We depend entirely on my little brother. With the money he makes on winning this competition, we’ll get our sister married and buy another house for ourselves!” I mean, is this what the sole duty of a little child remains? Should he not enjoy the fruits of childhood? I fail to understand how people can even think of treating children like sources for money? What difference does that leave between childhood and adulthood?