The Impact of Cynicism on Student Life: Overcoming the Stumbling Blocks of Cynicism
Evidently, one of the modern and constantly growing trends indicative of student behaviour in an Academic environment is cynicism, which is expressed through generalised distrust towards others’ purposeful actions. It is worrying that this negativity can affect areas concerning students’ lives such as performance, psychological well-being and social interaction. It is to analyze these effects that students, teachers, and parents need to try to make schooling have better effects on children.
Consequences of cynicism in students
One may wonder where the cynicism comes, why this cause serious concern for students; there are several factors that cause this. The expectations in regard to performance, the competitiveness in learning and education systems, a constant exposure to negative news, social networks also impacts one to have and maintain a skeptical approach to life. Further, feelings of disillusionment which may include betrayal, disappointment, or unfulfilled anticipations will tend to develop a more cynical perspective.
At times, cynicism is learnt as a coping device that one adopts out of necessity of survival. These students may take on an attitude of cynicism in order to avoid feeling a disappointment again or to appear more interpersonal and wiser. While such mindset might somehow help to avoid pain, in the long run, it causes significant harm. Academic Performance and Engagement Regression can significantly affect education in multiple ways which include cynicism. When learners look at schools and their instructors with prejudice, they are also unlikely to apply themselves appropriately. This disengagement can manifest in various ways:
This disengagement can manifest in various ways:
• Lack of Motivation: Apathetic learners are students who have no motivation to work hard in school and do not believe that there any reason as to why they should do well in their studies. They may begin to feel that such attempts are not worthwhile and may lose motivation towards further study or class participation.
• Reduced Participation: This is because students who embrace this attitude may not have the desire to engage in classroom activities or contribute towards group tasks. They may have such perceptions as the abilities they present amount to being underrated or the results are fixed by the various biases within the system.
• Lower Academic Achievement: Since motivation and participation are inversely related to the quality of performance, low motivation results not only in low participation but also low grades and achievements.
Mental Health Implications
It shows that cynicism’s influence does not end with academic performance but with a negative effect on the general well-being of students. The constant state of distrust and negativity can lead to:
• Increased Stress and Anxiety: Paradoxically, using cynicism to indirectly express defiance, potentially bored and frustrated students bear a heavy responsibility for this general attitude, which contributes to developing increased stress and anxiety. They might always be on the lookout for being cheated or manipulated and hence may hardly be at a state of mental repose.
• Depression: If one develops cynicism, it may lead to effects such as hopelessness and in some cases even depression. However, even optimism can become problematic when students think that there is no way of achieving something positive or if the world is overall mean and unkind.
• Isolation: This is under the premise that cynicism leads to withdrawal from social engagements or simply isolating one self. Immediate and close relationships with friends and others may be avoided by students, thinking that healthy relationships between people are virtually non-existent. This isolation can make such people worsen their depression and intensify their feelings of loneliness.
Combating Cynicism: How to face challenging times
Although cynicism can influence the student life considerably, it is possible to minimize its effects and work towards the promotion of a more positive attitude. Here are some strategies that students can adopt.
Here are some strategies that students can adopt:
• Cultivate Gratitude: One of the ways of washing the negative emotions and experiences is by learning the virtue of gratitude. Lastly, maintaining a gratitude journal, or just taking time every day and listing down things one should be grateful for will help cut down on cynicism and encourage a more positive outlook in life.
• Seek Support: Maintaining the positive work-related social interactions with friends and family as well as having positive role models as friends and mentors can help in avoiding cynicism at work. Another is self-expression and getting connected with individuals whom you trust to find ways on how to handle negative thoughts and feelings.
• Engage in Positive Activities: It is thus important to identify and engage in activities that are positive and can reduce the harm caused by cynicism such as hobbies, sports or volunteer work. Some of these activities can also afford purpose and meaning: an accomplishment here or an engagement there.
• Challenge Negative Thoughts: Consequently, actively challenging the cynical thinking style through re-interpretation of negative information can be beneficial for lowering cynicism. Psychotherapy interventions like written coping statements/positive self-statements, thought records, and rational thoughts can be used as well as client education on cognitive distortions and replacing their negative thoughts with healthy ones.
• Focus on Personal Growth: This is because by focusing more on internal attributes, such as becoming better individuals, this may redirect a subjects’ perception away from the various sources of cynicism. It’s also possible to learn from the process taking place that while personal goals can help set and to work towards them provides hope and a perceived locus of control.
Conclusion
Cynicism has a severe impact on student life as it impairs learning and communication disrupting quality academic output and interaction. The first step toward minimizing negative influence of cynicism is identifying the cause and consequences. It is for this reason that with the use of positive strategies and environment, the student can be able to overcome cynicism and be able to face the normal and the personal world of academics and life.
Authored By
Shikha Yadav
Assistant Professor
Department of Management and Commerce
The NorthCap University