Humanity (ability to care) is breaking down. Human vulnerabilities are being exploited. Social Media Technology and the Workplace have become critical mediums of negative influence. We often ignore what we cannot see, but, what about how we feel? Our minds and hearts have been targeted more than ever in the last two decades.
Social Media use is hurting mental health across ages. The digital world gives us the illusion of connectedness, leaving humans lonelier than ever.
Global data on the mental health concerns in the working population reveal;
- One billion people living with a mental disorder in 2019
- 15% of work-age adults experienced a mental disorder.
- Work amplifies wider societal issues that negatively affect mental health.
- An estimated 12 billion workdays are lost annually due to depression and anxiety costing the global economy nearly US$ One trillion.
The mental health crisis is the biggest challenge out there that requires everyone’s attention and action.
What we engage with daily as a way of life has its negative influences.
- The Workplace is rewriting our purpose
- The Media is corrupting minds and hearts
- Technology is disrupting human experiences
These three influences are getting inseparable with time, as we move to an increasingly technological world.
A job is a need, but the workplace isn’t only about paying the bills, and making a difference to the world around you. It has begun to shape why we are on this earth. Our purpose of life has become subject to corporate purposes. It has taken over life to such an extent that families are getting stretched, strained and separated. When families divide, society crumbles, and the world runs into chaos.
Media has become a weapon of mass destruction, corrupting minds and hearts with biased narratives. Technology has the power to customise engagement that puts people into various silos of thoughts and ideas, further dividing the world.
We are in an invisible war that is producing visible impact.
What is the need of the hour? A heart guarded by wisdom that helps us discern the times.
What concerns me most is how unprepared we are. We don’t see the attacks coming because we’ve lost the ability to discern. And as we try to heal from the ways we’ve been conditioned, we find ourselves defenseless, confused, vulnerable. In moments like these, I’m convinced that wisdom isn’t just helpful - it’s essential. It is the only thing left that can truly protect us.
As we grow older, experience life, we learn to question everything we believe in. ‘Why do I believe what I believe?’ Is a relevant question to ask yourself today.
In the end, we take nothing with us. What is all the hustle for? What matters the most in a life where people need to be loved and things are used? We live in a world where people are being used and things are loved.
Our seeking and reflecting must go beyond surface-level ‘who we are and what we do’. We need to go deeper and respond to the nudges of our conscience before it gets numb.
We are created with purpose, and turning to the Creator is a start.