Effects of Instant Validation on a Growing Mind - Manaskriti Sista

Instant validation means seeing instant results in anything and everything you do. Needing an immediate sense of accomplishment, and being congratulated for your work instantly. The constant need for instantly getting recognition and affirmation that they and their feelings or opinions are worthwhile. In today’s generation, the expectation of instant validation has grown from not only adults in the workplace but to young children entering grade school.

One of the most prominent areas we see the need for instant validation among children is in sports, more specifically team sports. We see young children, ranging from four to eight years needing some kind of trophy or medal for merely participating in the competition. However, the problem isn’t the craving for validation, it’s them receiving this validation instantly. Because they’re getting what they crave so much, they grow into adults who expect the same behavior. Repeating this behavior constantly during childhood can make these children develop into teenagers and then in the future into adults who become impatient and chaotic.

A lot of the need for instant validation stems from the increase of use of social media. People seek instant validation through the number of likes and comments their posts get and when translated to real life, whether it’s for an adult or a teenager can lead to harmful effects in the future. This immediate need for validation might stem from an underlying problem relating to connection, belonging, emotional understanding, regulation, self-identity, self-worth, psychological growth, and a need for healthier relationships. 

If someone with a growing mind is brought up in a community and household where they have an issue with any of those problems, instant validation becomes that much more important to their mental well-being. The growing mind learns and develops based on its surroundings. Being exposed to toxic environments such as this where they have to grow up working hard for attention will making even more attention-seeking as they get older, and make them a chaotic part of daily life for everyone around them.

By nurturing growing minds in a supportive environment, we set them up for their future where they are able to understand their own and others’ needs as an emotionally intelligent adult. However, if they’re deprived of this nurturing and growth-focused environment, the need for validation rises, and with the use of technology and especially social media, this craving for validation becomes a need for instant validation creating a more harmful environment to not only the person experiencing this but to everyone around them.