The Fading Value of Integrity Among the Young Generation

Among the fast-fading values of the young generation is integrity. Over the years, this moral and ethical fabric of society has been continually weakened in the pursuit of fulfillment in life. Having integrity refers to adherence to moral and ethical principles; uprightness of moral character; honesty among other values. Like many other values, it is a personal choice to uphold this ethical principle. From an ethical viewpoint, it is seen as the accuracy, truthfulness, or honesty of an individual’s actions.

Integrity can be antagonistic to hypocrisy based on its standards, which entail innate consistency as a virtue.

Integrity is multidimensional, and for this reason, it encompasses a wide range of issues, with even more values embedded within it such as accountability, reputation and morale, fairness, leadership among others. First, integrity is a crucial tool in the fight against corruption, which has encroached upon the minds of many young people. This has caused many to lose faith in the adequacy and efficacy of various institutions. These include universities and the police among others, in the delivery of quality services to all with fairness, and without favoritism on account of race, skin color, religion, or nationality. In view of this, integrity, for this reason, should be at the forefront of every organization and institution’s core values. Integrity is one of the most potent values because it can change the lives of individuals and those of others, especially the youth. As a value, it may enhance accomplishments through the power of practice; it multiplies the power of actions and results. Also, its expression in physical acts, thoughts, and attitudes individually have their power.

Secondly, another dimension of integrity is its application in various aspects of our day-to-day endeavors. We are living in a century in which the youth uphold slogans like “the end justifies the means”. This is a substantial detriment to efforts and campaigns on the need to uphold integrity. It is a value that one cultivates and inculcates over a long period, but it could take only a second to lose. Most young people lack the courage to stand and uphold it when circumstances become a little more stressful and tensions are high. For instance, sales people often overpromise and underdeliver. In various realms of life, we have personal integrity, professional integrity, artistic integrity, and intellectual integrity as identified by popular psychology. In all of these aspects, the youth today are deficient in these values. This has contributed greatly to the various crises that we as youth are facing today, such as job scarcity.

Thirdly, integrity is vital when it comes to information assurance, since information that lacks integrity is untrustworthy. Data integrity is another aspect that should be considered. It refers to maintaining and assuring the accuracy and consistency of data over its entire lifecycle. In social media, most youths have abused data integrity by registering their accounts with false information. This lack of integrity has indirectly contributed to a series of various cyber crimes like identity theft, transaction fraud, advance fee fraud, hacking, and piracy.

In conclusion, one cannot underemphasize the importance of other ethical principles such as honesty, since they are of equal merit in raising the moral standards of the youths today. Integrity, however, is very integral since it encompasses most of the values that greatly contribute towards a just society.

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