The lack of deep relationships in a high-tech culture leads to emotional deprivation and poor decision-making – leading young people to turn to drugs.
This, according to the head of the Catholic Church in Fiji, Archbishop Peter Loy Chong during an interview with The Fiji Times online platform, The Lens@177.
He said the digital culture was pervasive which challenged traditional family structures, leaving an impact on family life and youth development.
“In this world, this basic human need is underdeveloped especially with the high technology culture that we live in – cell phones,” he said.
“That is in the hands of everybody, that is almost like part of life, which diminishes the deep relationships that feed the basic human need people.
“We’ve got to teach people something that is very basic to human beings and that is we are social beings.
“Because that’s where the human emotional psychological needs are fed – through relationships.”
Archbishop Loy Chong said a social analysis was needed to be done to understand root causes of drug problem.
He emphasised the importance of making good decisions and planning to address social problems.
“Our world is becoming deprived of the deeper relationships and because of that, we do not know how to make good decisions.
“We become indecisive, and then some decisions we make in the spur of the moment are not the best ones.
“Sometimes for young people it is drugs and suicide.”
