Bollywood’s veteran actress Jaya Bachchan is known for her outspoken statements. In a re-aired episode of her granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda’s podcast ‘What the Hell Navya’, she said that the internet is to blame for the rising anxiety among the youth. She said that in her time, she had not even heard of anxiety attacks. Her daughter Shweta Bachchan, on the other hand, argued the opposite.
Jaya Bachchan
Talking about anxiety among youth, Jaya Bachchan said, “Navya, in your generation, it’s ‘answer calls quickly, reply to messages quickly’. Whatever you see on the internet and phone, you get your identity. Are we looking good? Are we thinking the right thing? Are you saying the right thing? All this increases your stress.”
Jaya Bachchan
When Navya asked if her generation is more stressed because of the internet, Jaya said without hesitation, “Of course.” She also claimed that there was no concept of anxiety attacks during her youth or mid-life. She said, “When we were kids, we had not heard of anxiety attacks. Forget about childhood, even in mid-life, we never heard about it.’ According to her, ‘too much information’ about appearances, beauty routines, and social comparisons promotes anxiety in today’s generation.
Jaya Bachchan
However, Shweta, Jaya, and Amitabh’s daughter and Navya’s mother, argued the opposite and said that anxiety has always been there, but now it is widely accepted. Shweta said, ‘Anxiety was always there. Now it is more recognizable. It is talked about more.’ She also told that Jaya herself has admitted to feeling anxiety, and said, ‘It has just become more vocal.’