A month ago, I got my first classical guitar.
I was very excited because I always had an indescribable love for music and for the way it can convey the emotions of the one who plays and composes it.
I immediately began learning scales, chords and music theory.
As the days progressed, I would increasingly find myself in the melodies I played, and I would spend hours listening to music and learning new things about it.
I had less time for social networks, on which I had earlier spent up to 6 hours a day.
I forgot about problems at home, the stress related to my enrolment in high school, and other things that would normally bother me.
Every time I learned to play something new, I felt like I was on top of the world.
And all this started with one guitar.
Although a child in Montenegro spends on average 8 hours a day in front of various screens, almost one-third of children aged 9-17 years never watch tutorials or "do-it-yourself" video instructions on YouTube, which can teach you, for example, how to play the guitar.
"Technology is beautiful, but it has its own disadvantages; it is a good servant, but an evil master" are some of the lyrics of the media literacy campaign song which young reporters made, along with UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador Antonije Pušić aka Rambo Amadeus.
These lyrics are really good at describing the situation in which we do not only spend too much time sitting before screens, but also very often we make poor choices when it comes to what we watch during that time.
Therefore, my message to parents, as well as the young people of Montenegro, is simple – find a second-hand guitar (or some other instrument or a hobby, depending on your interests) and learn something new that fulfils you, while using the media to help you in the process.
Life takes place in an off-line setting, and if we know how to use the media it can help us to improve it.
Let's choose what we google, let’s choose what we watch!
Andrija Zekovic is a 15-year-old student from Podgorica, Montenegro. He is an active member of the debate club and he loves painting and drawing. A year ago he started playing guitar and making his own songs. He is a member of 'UNICEF Volunteers - Young Reporters' formed in 2018 within the media literacy campaign 'Let's Choose What We Watch'
