Psychological Effects of Activism on Greta Thunberg

A person who campaigns for political or social change is known as an activist. As a consequence, anybody may become an activist and participate in the campaign's activities. However, for the time being, the question is whether or not children should become activists. Child activism should not be promoted since it is such a serious issue and it is dangerous. Although children should have the right to be activists, I do not believe we should encourage them to do so at a young age. It may have an influence on their social and psychological well-being as they become older, and they may come to regret their decision to become activists.

Even if they are well-informed about the issue, most children are still developing and learning new things. A child's mental health may deteriorate if he or she becomes an activist. Greta, for example, was experiencing a mental break down while sailing across the Atlantic to New York for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. She expressed a desire to return to her previous life, complete with her family and dogs. As a result of her activism, she was having meltdowns and regularly refusing to eat.

Being an activist may be dangerous at times. Greta received death threats and cruel comments on social media simply for being a young activist. Malala Yousafzai was only shot in the head by the Taliban in December 2012 for being an activist ( she was only 15 at the time). According to a new research, 221 environmental activists were murdered last year. Imagine one of them being your child.  When you become an activist, you open yourself up to the public and get the ability to share your opinions on problems. This is why I feel it is so dangerous, particularly for children, since you may say the wrong thing and upset someone, such as the government.

Sure there are some reasons why children should become activists, but there are many more compelling reasons why they shouldn’t. I agree that everyone in the world should have the right to fix what is broken in our world, but I don't encourage children to do that at a young age. I don't believe children should be raised sure of their righteousness and that they are always in the right, this will lead them to become bad activists in the future. A good activist can sort wrong from the right while acknowledging subjectivity and nuance. Are children capable of this? It's just that being an activist is a big responsibility to take on at a young age. 

Being an activist and speaking about global issues is excellent, but I don't encourage children to do it.  Because it is a major  matter and because it is dangerous child activism should not be encouraged. Even if the child is well aware of the problem, if he or she does not understand what they are doing, it will all fall apart and most.