An important skill that our children need if they are to successfully ride the wave of life’s ups and downs, without finding themselves flailing for air after being hit by an especially nasty rip tide, is the ability to fail.
While I am consistently impressed by the levels of emotional literacy displayed by the younger generations, I am also deeply worried by the degree of perfectionism that is present too.
Whether it is taking 25 selfies and applying half a dozen filters before uploading a picture to Instagram, whether it is consuming endless YouTube tutorials to help them sculpt the perfect body, face or hair, or whether it is their unwillingness to accept anything other than top marks in their preferred hobbies or studies, this is a generation which is driven by unrelenting standards and which is surrounded by the perfectly airbrushed lives of their social networks – both online and offline.
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