The anatomy of raising a child

Behind the screens, unfiltered.

By sunishka.

Things started spiralling downhill when screens found home in cute and slightly crusty toddler hands. It seemed harmless enough at first — just some innocent Baby Shark doo doo doo on Cocomelon. Bought you a solid hour to watch Netflix, no big deal. 

 Fast forward a whole decade and boom — your tiny human is a full-blown gamer (like okay, it’s just for fun and stress relief?harmless, right?) Now he’s out here spitting some top-tier brainrot lingo with his lil gamer squad, and you’re there like, “aww, such a social butterfly” thinking he’s just vibing.

Meanwhile, Instagram become the new fad. But you wouldn’t know — you’re still on Facebook, posting those ancient birthday collages (not even vintage bruh) and typing out "thanks for the wishes" on his behalf. He responds with the driest "thx" but you shrug it off. He’s growing up, finding independence, right?

You raised a good kid. You did. But  here’s plot the twist: someone else has been co-parenting this entire time.

You don’t know this person. Trust me, you wouldnt want your kid to either

He’s lurking in movie scenes, Insta comments, reels, and even those "funny" convos at school. You wouldn’t notice him because he’s translucent.

This guy? He’s essentially a fungus — a slow-burn infection. He convinces you that you’re still in control while quietly building his underground cult of boys who believe more in “sigma grindsets” and “beta male” labels than in themselves.

He’s patient. He lurks. Waiting for the perfect trigger point— a random chat with a girl, someone daring to say feminism out loud, or just that creeping wave of insecurity — boom. He’s out in the open, but still masked, still hiding behind that harmless-looking screen, connecting with other lost souls tangled in his web. What starts as a few clicks spirals into a whole network, a brotherhood of toxic mindset, fuelling each other’s fire till it feels like it's the only truth they know.

And what's stemmed from this isn’t just edgy memes. It’s violence. Misogyny. Control.

It seeps into classrooms — nasty comments, spine-chilling jokes, casual disrespect. Yes this has become the norm.

You wonder, where were the parents?

Oh how were they to know? The devil got there first. The one who gets them young, owns them for life.

This culture’s everywhere, but it’s mad hard for parents to clock it, especially in their own kid. It’s time to spot the demon and squash it while it’s still baby fungus Because once it grows it’s game over. Period.