Do you know? Today’s youth is chasing reels over real skills — building views or building a future?

Chasing reels or real skills — what’s today’s youth really building: a future or just views?

Once upon a time, success was a long-term commitment. You’d learn a skill, master a craft, maybe even fail a dozen times before someone noticed you. Today? You just need a ring light, a trending sound, and the audacity to believe that dancing awkwardly in your kitchen is a career plan.

The New Dream Job: Going Viral reels

A young woman in a library wearing a skeptical expression glances at her phone displaying "11K followers" and the label "INFLUENCER," while digital notifications fill the air. A surprised man looks on through a window, highlighting the surreal impact of social media fame.

Back in the day, kids wanted to be doctors, engineers, or astronauts.

Now? “Influencer” is a career goal, and being a “public figure” with 11K followers and zero real income is the flex.

Let’s be clear:

it’s not about dismissing content creators. It’s about the blind race for clout without craft. Everyone’s building a personal brand, but no one remembers to build a personality. Or a skill.

The Great Distraction Circus

Caught in the digital whirlwind: Navigating the relentless cycle of trends, reels, and self-doubt.

Focus? Attention span? Those are vintage concepts now — like landlines and newspapers.

Imagine trying to learn coding, editing, or even cooking in a world where your phone dings every 7 seconds to show you how someone made ₹80,000 in 4 hours selling AI-generated

T-shirts.

Why bother with skill-building when you can “manifest” success while sipping overpriced coffee and posting #grind captions?

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In the digital age, where viral videos and social media presence overshadow traditional achievements, is your online persona your new CV?

• Why get a degree when you can go viral crying on camera about your breakup?

  
  

• Who needs public speaking skills when you’ve mastered lip-syncing to Bollywood dialogues?

  
  

• Resumes are dead. It’s your reel game that recruiters are watching now, right?

Just kidding. Hopefully.

Desi Distraction – Viral but Void

And if you scroll through the Indian social space? You’ll hear it often:

“We’re not inventing anything anymore — just exporting vulgarities.”

But not entirely wrong.

A young woman sits on a plush sofa, engrossed in her phone amidst a table strewn with snack wrappers and soda cans, embodying a casual evening in.

While the West dreams up AI models and builds rockets, our trending pages are full of lip-syncs, cringe comedy, and ‘relationship advice’ from 17-year-olds who’ve never paid a bill.

We’re not against creators. We’re against dilution.

There’s talent, yes — but it's buried under layers of noise, fake motivation, and half-baked infotainment. Because let’s face it, deep down, the algorithm doesn’t reward brilliance — it rewards retention. And nothing retains better than drama, skin, or controversy.

So we get it.

But do we want to be remembered for it?

But Wait — What If Instagram Disappears Tomorrow?

Scary question, right?

Amidst fallen leaves and sunlight, a phone screen questions the fragility of online validation: "What if the likes dry up?"

What if the algorithm stops favoring you? What if the likes dry up? What if the “explore” tab explores someone else?

Would you still have something to offer?

Would you still be someone with value — outside of filters and filters of validation?

The Real Flex:

Building Something That Lasts

Here’s a radical idea: what if youth started using social media alongside skill-building, not instead of it?

• What if every reel was backed by a real skill?

• What if we learned patience in a world that worships speed?

• What if we started treating discipline like a trend?

Imagine the chaos.

In a world full of trending audios and disappearing dopamine, the rarest flex is depth.

Not the kind that fits in 15 seconds. The kind that takes years — and still grows stronger.