• Ελληνικά
  • English
  • Ελληνικά
  • English

“We have handed our children over to algorithms. TikTok has taken over their upbringing, while YouTube has become the ‘father figure.’ We sowed screens and indifference, and now we are reaping generations in crisis.”

“We have handed our children over to algorithms. TikTok has taken over their upbringing, while YouTube has become the ‘father figure.’ We sowed screens and indifference, and now we are reaping generations in crisis.”

Retired Hellenic Police Lieutenant General Manolis Sfakianakis spoke in particularly strong terms about parents and the challenges children face today, reiterating that “we do not have a problem with minors; we have a problem with adults who have abandoned their children to algorithms…”

Speaking at the Thermopylae Forum 2026, the former Head of the Cyber Crime Division stated:

“We do not have a problem with minors; we have a problem with adults who have abandoned their children to algorithms. TikTok has taken over their upbringing, YouTube has become the ‘father,’ Instagram has defined their sense of self-worth, while we applauded because… our children had become quiet. And now we wonder why there is juvenile delinquency. We wonder why children cannot cope with rejection. Do not be surprised — you reap what you sow. We sowed screens and indifference, and now we are reaping generations in crisis. The question is whether we still have the courage to admit it.

When a child is left alone in a room all day, ‘killing’ others in games and taking part in online gangs, we then wonder why gangs of minors are emerging all around us. And then we expect the Ministry of Citizen Protection to arrest every minor involved, for something that we ourselves have brought into their lives. These things did not exist in the past. So do not be surprised by any of this.

There is one solution: we need to develop a different culture within our homes in order to change this. You cannot leave a child in a stroller all day watching YouTube videos. Pay more attention to your children. We are not born depressed; we become depressed.”

Watch the video:

@lamiareport.gr «Το TikTok ανέλαβε την ανατροφή, το YouTube έγινε ο “πατέρας”, το Instagram όρισε την αξία… έχουμε παρατήσει τα παιδιά μας σε αλγόριθμους». Ο Μανώλης Σφακιανάκης μιλά με σκληρή γλώσσα, χωρίς περιστροφές για την παραβατικότητα ανηλίκων, την επιρροή των social media και την ευθύνη των ενηλίκων. Δείτε το απόσπασμα από το Thermopylae Forum 2026. #ThermopylaeForum #LamiaReport #Σφακιανάκης #Ανήλικοι #SocialMedia ♬ πρωτότυπος ήχος – LamiaReport.gr

OUR THERMOPYLAE