Üsküdar University Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, was a guest of the "Youth Summit Guiding the Future" program organized by Aziz Mahmut Hüdai Vakfı and Lider Eğitim Gençlik ve Spor Kulübü Derneği. Tarhan, who made evaluations on the topic of "New Truths in Youth," spoke about today's reality, the current situation of youth, and solutions. Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, "Currently, we are facing a youth model unwilling to take responsibility. This is the social trend. If some young people change and protect their life philosophies within this trend, they can protect themselves from the global flow in the world. There is currently a flood disaster, and all young people are affected by it. We need to hold onto a log and move forward in this flood. If we try to confront this flood, our strength will not be enough, and we will drown. We will ride the log against the flood, take it with us, and move forward."
This situation indicates the weakening of friendships!
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that compared to the past, young people meet their friends face-to-face less often and now form friendships through virtual environments. Tarhan, stating that this situation weakens friendships, said; "The rate of young people aged thirteen to nineteen meeting their friends face-to-face, including other age groups, dropped from 50% to 20% after 2010. We can say that this situation has further decreased after 2015. Youth means a person leaving home, entering life, proving themselves, and being a social being. However, today's youth are trying to do this in virtual environments. This situation indicates that friendships among young people are beginning to weaken. We are currently facing a situation that suggests young people are moving towards social isolation and loneliness. Looking at clinical depression cases in the USA between 2013-2016, we see an increase in society. Wealth and happiness are not parallel. The US Children's Defense Fund, in statistics published in the 2000s, stated that six children committed suicide, children under eighteen were arrested for violent crimes, one hundred and seven babies were born to young mothers, a large number of children dropped out of school, and one hundred and thirty-five thousand children brought guns to school."
"Mankind is unhappy and tries to be happy with medications"
Tarhan stated that there is a civilization crisis everywhere in the world, saying, "I used to call California Syndrome the crisis of Western civilization, but now I don't use the word 'Western.' Because California Syndrome has now become a global civilization crisis. The first item of California Syndrome is hedonism. We are currently living in an age of pleasure and speed, and young people have chosen hedonism as their ego ideal. The second is narcissism, which is the lack of empathy, selfishness becoming a personality trait. These individuals see themselves as special and superior. They don't care about anyone for their own interests. As a result of hedonism and narcissism, one of the concepts that emerges as a problem is loneliness. With loneliness, escaping social responsibility and loneliness arise. As a result, individuals remain alone in the crowd. Consequently, the last item of the California Syndrome emerges: unhappiness and suicide. Currently, when samples taken from sewage waters in New York are examined, antidepressant pills, along with heroin and cocaine, are found in the wastewater. Humankind is seriously unhappy and tries to be happy with medications. While facing all these situations, the Covid-19 pandemic was added on top, and this pandemic had an accelerating effect on this process."
It is possible to be protected from the global flow!
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan; "Currently, we are facing a youth model unwilling to take responsibility. This is the social trend. If some young people change and protect their life philosophies within this trend, they can protect themselves from the global flow in the world. There is currently a flood disaster, and all young people are affected by it. We need to hold onto a log and move forward in this flood. If we try to confront this flood, our strength will not be enough, and we will drown. We will ride the log against the flood, take it with us, and move forward."
"Academic Achievement and Moral Achievement Form Life Success"
Tarhan stated that a person cannot continue their life solely with academic success, emphasizing that moral success should also be given to young people alongside academic success, using the following expressions; "Every parent says, 'I want my child to be intelligent and successful.' These are criteria for raising aspiring leaders in education. One who cannot be their own leader cannot be the leader of a society. The first step in leadership training is self-awareness and self-consciousness. The doctrine of the current education system is focused on children being intelligent and successful. This is globally the case. A child who received an education became very intelligent and successful, and as a result, became an excellent computer engineer. But this person uses their talent not for good purposes, but for bad purposes. Therefore, being only intelligent and successful is not enough. In addition to these two qualities, the person needs to be a good human being. Currently, we have an education system that prioritizes only academic success. However, a person cannot sustain their life solely with academic success. Alongside this success, young people also need to acquire moral success. When academic success and moral success come together, they form life success. Therefore, we need to rapidly change our education system, which is reduced to academic success, and integrate moral success into our education system."
"Pursuing Meaning is Behind Self-Actualization"
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that modernism has changed the individual, youth, and life philosophy, used the expressions, "As I mentioned in the California Syndrome, hedonism is presented to young people as a life purpose. However, the purpose of life should be to pursue meaning. A person needs to create a life pyramid. At the base of Maslow's psycho-social life pyramid are eating, drinking, and reproduction. In the second place is the need for a sense of security, in the third place is loving-being loved, and in the last place is self-actualization. Behind self-actualization is the pursuit of meaning."
"If We Cannot Catch the Age of Wisdom, We Will Miss This Century"
Tarhan emphasized that the current era, which he called the age of wisdom, should not be missed. Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, "One of the most important 21st-century skills is the ability to self-criticize and be inquisitive. Doing this requires free thought and mental objection. What we mean by this is objection, not rebellion. Rebellion and objection are different things. Rebellion is blindly opposing. We need to object and seek the truth. While seeking the truth, we must all be like hunters and miners. We must be knowledge miners, like data miners. For this reason, the 21st century must be the age of wisdom, not the age of information. If we cannot catch the age of wisdom, we will miss this century. Therefore, wisdom needs to be added to knowledge."