Robinhood Padilla on today’s children: ‘You’re weak’

Senator Robinhood Padilla on Wednesday drew a comparison between today’s youth and his generation, lamenting that the current generation is “weak” and more prone to mental health issues due to excessive exposure to social media.

Padilla made the remark during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, which he chairs, as it tackled the proposed Children’s Safety in Social Media Act.

“Ang mga bata po ngayon, sad to say, ‘wag kayo magagalit sa akin. Naku, maraming batang magagalit siguro pero pasensya na kayo—you are weak,” the senator said.

(Many may be upset with me for saying this, but today’s children, sad to say, are weak.)

“Hindi kayo katulad noong panahon namin na hindi kami iyakin. Natuto kami. Natuto kami sa kalsada, natuto kami na ‘wag umupo at umiyak,” he added.

(You’re not like us in our time—we didn’t cry easily. We learned from the streets; we learned not to just sit around and cry.)

Padilla also said that when he was younger, the term “depression” was not widely known.

“Noong panahon namin, hindi uso ‘yung salitang depression. Hindi ko nga alam kung ano ‘yung depression. Ngayon, batang maliit sasabihin, ‘I’m depressed.’ Magulo eh,” he said.

(During our time, the word ‘depression’ wasn’t common. I didn’t even know what it meant. Now even young children say, ‘I’m depressed.’ It’s confusing.)

According to Padilla, many young people today are addicted to social media and no longer go outside to play and build friendships.

He said this underscores the need for legislation regulating social media use, particularly among minors.

“Isipin po natin ang mga bata, ang future nila, ang kinabukasan ng mga batang Pilipino. Ang idudulog ko po sa inyo kung ano ang nawawala sa mga bata kapag masyado na sila sa social media—unang una na ‘yung kabataan nila,” he said.

(Let us think about the children—their future and the future of Filipino youth. When they spend too much time on social media, the first thing they lose is their childhood.)—MCG, GMA Integrated News