Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, was a live broadcast guest on the “City Talks” program organized by Samsun Metropolitan Municipality. At the event moderated by Ali Bedir and Ahmet Yıldız, Tarhan stated that a new global process has been entered with the pandemic, and emphasized that the importance of open, transparent, and honest people will increase in the digitalizing world. Tarhan said; “In the digital world, everything spoken is recorded, and our every step is monitored by cameras. In this digital age, people have to be honest. The new generation will learn that they need to be more honest with themselves and with others in this era. As a result, they will realize that being benevolent brings profit to people.”
“A New Era Has Begun with the Great Reset After the Pandemic”
Tarhan stated that the Covid-19 pandemic has affected all people biologically and psychologically, and that a new global process has begun worldwide. Tarhan; “The pandemic has globally affected all of us biologically and psychologically. Time magazine published a new issue with the headline 'The Great Reset.' We are globally facing a great reset. In this new process, people are stopping to think and making new beginnings. Globally, the idea of starting everything from scratch is dominant. Situations previously referred to as 'before Christ' and 'after Christ' will now be distinctly separated as 'before Covid-19' and 'after Covid-19' with the developments experienced. This global transformation began with digitalization. The Great Reset pushes people to question everything. In this process, we will question our relationship with nature, our relationships with ourselves and our families, and most importantly, our reason for existence. With Covid-19, people came closer to death than ever before and were forced to abandon their accustomed routines. In this process, those who could not accept the situation entered a psychology of denial, seeing the pandemic and the vaccine as a conspiracy. This is a mental trap; opposing the vaccine means opposing mathematics.” he said.
“The Most Important Value of Generation Z: Innocence”
Tarhan stated that no positive outcome can be achieved by criticizing Generation Z, and emphasized the need to guide this generation by highlighting their positive qualities. Tarhan; “Today, Generation Z is criticized for being self-centered. This generation has some beautiful qualities that we have overlooked. These qualities include their respect for nature and their hatred of negative emotions that older generations did not notice, such as deceit, intrigue, lying, and fraud. While this generation is self-centered and conformist on one hand, they are extremely charming on the other. I am hopeful about Generation Z. They are a digital generation, native to the digital world because they were born into it. The older generation, however, is an immigrant to the digital world. In my opinion, instead of criticizing this new generation, we need to guide them. Let's be like pilot captains guiding them, not like captains managing their ship. If this generation is raised well, they will transform the world into a more livable place. Because the malicious emotions present in older generations are not found in this generation; they have not yet encountered these emotions. We encountered these emotions very early due to scarcity, striving to stand firm. They, on the other hand, are trying to stand firm and mature in a period of abundance. Innocence is the most important value of Generation X.” he stated.
“People of the Digital Age Must Be Open, Transparent, and Honest”
Tarhan stated that we live in a digital age and that global peace can only be achieved through justice. Tarhan; “Income inequality in the world has reached its peak. Two billion people in Africa do not have access to drinking water. If we want global peace, we must ensure global justice. Colonialism is said to be over, but post-colonial studies continue unabated. With the digitalizing world, the importance of open, transparent, and honest people will further increase. It used to be said, 'a liar's candle burns until bedtime,' but now 'a liar's candle burns until the internet.' Because in the digital world, everything spoken is recorded, and our every step is monitored by cameras. In this digital age, people have to be honest; the path for being open, transparent, and honest has been paved. Such a world will be a more livable world. When we cannot ensure justice, there will be no peace. To ensure justice, those who will provide justice must be powerful and have the tools to do so. The new generation will learn that they need to be more honest with themselves and with others in this era. As a result, they will realize that being benevolent brings profit to people.” he said.
“The Illness of Our Age is Lawlessness”
Tarhan stated that values education should be given within the family, emphasizing that the family is the last bastion that must be saved. Tarhan; “Values are not learned through education, conferences, or sermons. On the contrary, they are learned through experience. The first institution where values education is provided is the family. There is an outer fortress and an inner fortress protecting a city. If the outer fortress falls, the final struggle is given in the inner fortress. The family is like our inner fortress. Our social norms, traditions, customs, and neighborhood pressure that benefited the development of society have now disappeared. Social norms have changed, and a psychological anomie, meaning normlessness, a lawlessness, has emerged. With its global increase, the spread of freedom rapidly deteriorated social and cultural standards. Society’s protective role weakened, and only the inner fortress, the family, remained standing. But the family is in a very difficult situation. Today, the house has an open door; this open door is TV, computer, and tablet. These make the safe environment of the home unsafe, and because they act as 'cheap babysitters' for parents, distracting children, their danger is not fully understood. However, recently, most children brought to child psychiatry apply to us with complaints of inability to speak. When we examine the child, it turns out to be acquired autism, the reason being excessive exposure to TV or tablets. Since the child is constantly occupied with them, their word production skill has not developed. The world is heading towards acquired autism.” he said.
“Optimism is Praised in Sacred Texts”
Tarhan stated that optimism should be maintained in every event, drawing attention to a study conducted at Üsküdar University; “Nurten Hoca from our Child Development department conducted a wonderful study. During the Covid-19 period, she measured pandemic anxiety in children of optimistic mothers and fathers. Pandemic anxiety was found to be lower in children of optimistic mothers, while it was higher in children of pessimistic mothers. Optimism is a behavior praised in our culture and religion. A story is mentioned in the scriptures sent to Prophet Abraham. The summary of this story is; “He who sees beauty thinks beautifully, and he who thinks beautifully enjoys life.” It tells us to look at events in life optimistically and be happy. If this is the summary of a few pages revealed to Prophet Abraham, then the most complex, most important knowledge for a human being is to be optimistic,” he said.
“The Family is One of Humanity's Best Discoveries; It Must Be Protected”
Tarhan emphasized the importance of the 0-3 age period in children, stating that the emotions felt during this period affect an individual's entire life. Tarhan; “The human brain experiences 'blooming' during two periods of life. This is a period like nature suddenly becoming green and flowers blooming in spring. The 0-3 age period is one of the times when a child's brain 'blooms.' If a child gains a basic sense of trust and grows up in a warm environment during that period, they lay the foundation of their life building properly. But currently, there are very interesting statistics, especially in Northern Europe. The rate of out-of-wedlock births in Sweden and Norway is 59%, and in France, it is 56%. Children are born and given to state institutions without growing up in a family. In institutions, since the mother and father are not identified, they are named parent 1 and parent 2. These children grow up without hearing the word 'mother' in their lives. They do not know the feeling of motherhood, and because they do not learn emotional exchange, the generations growing up are coming as a lost generation. We conducted a project and founded an association with former Minister Fatma Şahin regarding children under state protection. We are currently serving over 300 orphaned children. The ideal system is the foster parenting system. If that cannot be provided, institutions like 'Sevgi Evleri' (Homes of Love) can meet this need in society with minimal harm. If constructive solutions are not found for this problem, it will continue to come before us as a global concern. The best solution for this is to keep the family standing. If we lose motherhood, we lose the generation. The family is one of humanity's best discoveries.” he said.