I am suddenly inundated by a litany of worries. Some of which are not even related to my personal life but got me brooding over them nevertheless.

On the train the other day, i sat adjacent to a Malay girl adorning an ITE uniform. She had a skirt so short, i could see her cellulite and her panties when she crossed and uncrossed her legs (ala Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct). She must have cursed her luck to have a girl sitting opposite her, instead of a guy.

I was walking at a mall one day and I saw a strikingly attractive girl with tons of make up on her face. But something was uncanny. She was dressed like a 20 year old but had the face of a 13 year old. She was wearing heels.

I took the bus yesterday, and was horrified at the sight of a teenage couple smooching openly, while the boy had his hands under the girl's skirt. Both were in school uniform. And in the bus!

Took a walk down Orchard Road during the weekend and sights of young girls, outrageously dressed, smoking, cursing loudly. One girl, about 16, was in a revealing top which had half of her boobs spilling out. I looked away, disgusted. The boys were staring but she looked like she didn't mind the attention though.

They amuse me but at the same time, gave me an inexplicable feeling of uneasiness.

Correct me if i'm wrong but what exactly is happening to our younger generation? Are these the ones who are going to lead the country in the near future? I have endless tautological questions with no answers.

When i was growing up in the nineties, i didn't have the luxury of MTV unfolding before my eyes. Cables were uncommon. Handphones were scarce. Life was not as complicated, and technologically advanced as the new millemium. Exposure to western influences were rather hardly. Stories such as teenage pregnancy will cause us to gasp with horror and disbelieve that such a disgusting incident could happen. But now, it was treated with indifference. Just a shake of the head a "Tskk....". Why? Because we heard them all too often.

It is apparent by now that kids are more intelligent these days. They are more technologically adept and are constantly exposed to immoral western values as opposed to ours. Nudity is not uncommon in MTV. Now, teenagers are watching porn on handphones. For them, sex is a trend. Like jumping in the bandwagon kinda thing. Young girls are more promiscuous now, emulating western influences. They grow up too fast, losing their innocence far too early. The sad thing about this that they know it is wrong, but they do it anyway.

These issues must have been prevalent long enough for we have MCYS fervently tackling them and programmes such as Hanyut helping to give light and guidance to these troubled, lost souls.

It's sad and scary. Why am I scared? Because I am wondering now how my children will be. The world changes with technology. Technology evolves like invisible tentacles as it grabs and infects. It's unstoppable. What will be the reigning problems that will spill over to my children? I know of mums with teenaged children, worrying over them constantly. Looking at the myriad of complexities involving teenagers today, i couldnt help wondering what will be the issues i have to face with my children?

Oh great. Today, i have successfully inoculated myself with mind-numbing shit. It dawned upon my troubled head that life stopped being simple a long time ago and the complicated will be more complex.