A tragic fact of the modern times is that its young generation has become directionless. In whatever the youth are doing they are neither oblivious of its consequences, nor do they bother about it. The life styles they adopt are chosen either out of curiosity, peer pressure or fashion. Alternatively stress, anxiety and frustration drive them onto these paths. The media, TV and films have become their sources of inspiration.

The torchbearers of the society including the editors, writers and the like do express their concern about this grave problem but no one is seriously trying to find an effective solution. At best the young are occasionally reminded of their waywardness and some routine advices are dished out, and there the matter ends. The newspapers and T.V., for example, often cover and show cases of drug addition in the young generation. But why is it so? No one has the time or inclination to enquire into the root causes of this growing tendency. What has driven them in this direction? Who are the people who supply them drugs? These questions remain unanswered because such probes are painstaking and lack sensational value.

What is even more alarming is that the attraction of the youth of today is no longer for wine, cigarette, tobacco, etc. These are all now old fashioned and ‘soft’ items. The ‘in’ thing now is something else which they are indulging as stress busters. This something else is pulling them towards night clubs, pubs and restaurants. Here they get “chilled water”, “energy drinks”, gags and jokes intoxicating new music and “shirts”. All these are code words of course. “Shirts”, for example, means cocaine or heroine taken intravenously. Recently the drug trip of the son of a late political big wig received much media hype.

The use of cyber cafe too has rapidly become common among the youth. The benefits of these cafes are undoubted. Internet, the unique instrument of information revolution is daily opening new vistas of knowledge and information. The whole world is witness to this expanding horizon. But the directionless boys and girls are abusing this facility too not in small measure. Cyber cafes are injecting poison in their lives. From big cities this disease is percolating down to small towns.