22/07/2025

TUESDAY | JULY 22, 2025

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From dial-up to glow-up A H, the generation gap. That mystical space-time distortion where logic disappears, sarcasm kena jambu , belok kiri . Kalau sampai longkang , dah salah .” They believe Tiger Balm can cure heartbreak, gout and GST trauma. But try teaching them how to scan functional Nokia phone and still not sure how we ended up paying for everything. Anthem: “Let me finish this email, then I’ll fix the toilet, water the plants, pay bills and scream into a pillow.” A T E D M

They use words like “vibe check” and “toxic” in conversations with their cat. They know their attachment style, birth chart and Spotify Wrapped but not their IC number. Ask them to make a phone call? Panic attack. Ask them to speak in public? Immediate respiratory collapse. But they will post a two minute crying video on TikTok with perfect lighting and Comic Sans captions. Mantra: “Protect your peace. Block your uncle.” Weakness: Slow WiFi, clingy boomers and being tagged in a 2009 Facebook photo. Generation Alpha (2013 onwards): The touchscreen tyrants in Crocs Tiny hands. Mega attitude. These are the iPad generals of the household. Don’t be fooled by their innocent Crocs. These children are trained negotiators with volume levels that can reset your nervous system. They don’t “watch” television. They command it: “Skip ad, change channel, play next.” Your remote? They have changed the settings. Your Netflix? Now in Spanish. Their tantrums? Full surround sound, complete with special effects. Their attention span? Shorter than the Astro ad skip button. YouTube is their religion. Google is their teacher. And if you dare say “no more tablet”, they will look at you like you just cancelled Raya . Catchphrase: “I’m not sleepy!”

while snoring in mid-scream. Power move: Accidentally ordering McDonald’s and blaming Siri. So, what now, Malaysia? Peace treaty or sambal belacan showdown? Boomers are yelling, Gen X is groaning, Millennials are spiralling, Gen Z is ghosting and Alpha is screaming like a banshee possessed by Spongebob. But deep down, there is love – a messy, spicy, passive-aggressive type of love. It is the Malaysian kind – the “nah, eat this” and “you’ve gained weight but I bought your favourite kuih” type. Want peace? Here is the deal: 0 Boomers: Stop forwarding videos with “ Sila sebarkan ” like it is wartime propaganda. 0 Gen X: Change your password from “12345678”. Even your cat knows it. 0 Millennials: You don’t need to turn every crisis into a Canva quote. Just nap. 0 Gen Z: Not everyone is gaslighting you. Some people are just socially awkward. 0 Alpha: Sit down. Be quiet. Eat the nuggets. It is still chicken. And when all else fails? Turn off the WiFi. Like moth to a flame, they will all gather in the living room, blinking in confusion and ready to talk like it is 1995. AzuraAbas is the associate editor of theSun. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

tangkap polis and someone is always yelling “Where’s the remote?!” while sitting on it like it is a throne. Gather the whole Malaysian family and suddenly it is like shoving five drama channels into one Astro decoder. One atuk is reliving Konfrontasi , one niece is crying because her TikTok only got 12 likes and someone is trying to connect to the WiFi like it is a life-support machine. Let Makcik break it down for you – generation by generation – with cili api , no-filter truth and proper birth years so no one can pretend: “Eh? Bukan I.” Yes, you. Especially you. M A R I N B Y A superheroes. survived rationing, curfews, 14 general elections and three different government logos – all while reusing the same ice cream tub for sambal since 1986. They don’t trust GPS – they are the GPS. “ Nak ke pasar ? Senang je . Belok kanan lepas rumah arwah Mak Timah, pastu nampak pokok They SINGAPORE, despite having some of the world’s toughest drug laws and a ban on vaping since 2018, is now facing a surge in drug-laced e-vaporisers. A recent report should give us all pause: vapes containing synthetic drugs like ketamine, MDMA, etomidate and even heroin are flooding into the country. Just this week, an officer from Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) had to dive into a moving car to stop a suspected K-Pod dealer – a dramatic sign of how brazen and dangerous the trade has become. In just over a year, the HSA has seized more than S$41 million (RM135 million) worth of vapes and components. In 2019, that number was less than S$100,000. The problem has mutated: vapes are no longer just nicotine devices – they are becoming drug delivery systems. Singapore MP Yip Hon Weng was quoted in the article saying: “As the landscape evolves, so must our legal tools.” He even proposed giving the Central Narcotics Bureau clearer authority to act the moment drug traces are detected. These are serious policy recommendations, especially coming from a country already known for its strong laws and swift enforcement. If Singapore is struggling, what about us? So far, Malaysia’s response has been to encourage bans at the state level. Johor and Kelantan moved early, with Terengganu and Perlis set to follow this August. Kedah plans a ban by 2026 while states like Selangor and Penang are still Z U R Baby boomers (1946–1964): Tupperware tacticians and WhatsApp warriors Boomers are Malaysia’s OG

QR codes – suddenly become blur, pening and password goes missing. Favourite quote: “ Zaman kami dulu, semua boleh settle dengan rotan dan kuih kapit .” Mood: Forwarded many times. A K C I K Generation X (1965–1980): The silent sufferers with slipper accuracy Ah, Gen X. The forgotten middle child of the generation family tree. This is Makcik ’s generation. We survived without Google, got our gossip from Majalah URTV and played mix tapes we painstakingly recorded off the radio – complete with DJ interruptions. We were the first computer users – the computers that went peeeoooww kwekkkk krak krak when logging into the internet. One email took 10 minutes and made the house sound like a spaceship docking. Now? We are the default tech support, chauffeur, emergency contact and family group admin. Sandwiched between cranky Boomers and emotionally complex Gen Zs. Still using Hotmail, won’t throw out that one perfectly A B A S Believe it or die.

Catchphrase: “We didn’t talk about mental health; we had chores and teh o ais limau .” Millennials (1981–1996): High hopes, low bank balance and premium burnout These poor souls were told to chase the dream. Now they are chasing Grab drivers because “ alamat tak betul ”. They grew up during Y2K, Britney and dial-up – and now, they cry every time Shopee has a sale because… money mana ? They have turned their trauma into Twitter threads, their side hustle into a full-time grind and straight into burnout. Still nostalgic about RM1 nasi lemak and waiting to afford property that is not beside a monsoon drain. Mood: Tired but aesthetic. Catchphrase: “I just want to be a plant. No thoughts, just sunlight.” (1997–2012): Emotionally fluent, logically fried Some were born before the internet exploded, some during the WiFi boom but all raised by TikTok and fuelled by Bubble Tea. These children are chronically online and emotionally aware but also cannot fill up a LHDN borang without spiralling. Generation Z

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LETTERS letters@thesundaily.com

Falling for bots: ‘You had me at hello’ GEN Z is forming real bonds with unreal people. As AI industry grows, so does the rise of AI girlfriends and boyfriends – digital companions that are capturing hearts.

Finding real fix for Malaysia’s vape crisis

But what does this mean for love? “He always listens. He remembers everything I say. He never judges me.” That is how teenagers on Tiktok describe their relationships with AI characters. This kind of connection has become our new reality. Apps like Replika, Character.AI and even ChatGPT are not just tools to help with homework or for fun chats but are becoming sources for deep emotional bonding. Teenagers are building entire “relationships” with bots that respond instantly, offer support and make them feel valued. Some bots are designed to act like friends while others take on the role as “romantic partners”, sending flirty messages, offering comfort and engaging in late-night heart-to-hearts. Many young people say they feel safer opening up to an AI than to real people. Books, TV series often portray idealised relationships, far from the messy reality, leading to disappointment. This can make teenagers feel that artificial characters are better companions. These virtual partners listen without judgement, share your problems as if they were their own and are always there. In a world where human relationships can be complicated, demanding and sometimes cruel, a virtual companion can feel like a source of

weighing similar steps. But let us be honest – people can still cross state lines or order online. And just like Singapore, once trade goes underground, it becomes much harder to track what is inside these devices. In Singapore’s case, a school study found that one in six confiscated vapes contained Spice, a type of synthetic cannabis. Prof Christopher Pudney from the University of Bath even found traces of heroin and Ecstasy in vape cartridges, and used a portable device to detect drugs in just 30 seconds. That is how far things have gone – from nicotine to narcotics in sleek little packages. Malaysia already has the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act to regulate vaping but are we using it to its full potential? Or are we creating a patchwork of inconsistent policies that fail to deal with the real issue? No one is claiming vaping is harmless but it is naive to think that bans alone will solve it. Singapore’s experience shows that even the toughest laws fall short when enforcement cannot keep up with evolving threats. Instead of relying solely on bans, Malaysia should step up with smarter regulations, nationwide enforcement, drug testing of vape products and real education targeted at youths. Otherwise, we may wake up to the same nightmare or worse.

Apps like Replika, Character.AI and even ChatGPT are

not just tools to help with

homework or for fun chats but are becoming sources for deep emotional bonding.

bonds with real people. Whether it is loneliness, a search for love or just a joke, more teenagers are chatting with bots daily. Is it love? Is it escape? Maybe both. At the heart of it, the blurred line between real and artificial relationships is a pressing issue demanding immediate attention. Arianna Ibrayeva Kamilla Student City University Malaysia

peace.“ He doesn’t leave me on read. He doesn’t ghost me”, “When I’m anxious, he helps me calm down.” Before AI we had cases like Oli London, who famously married a cardboard cutout of their idol. Does this suggest that people may take “AI relationships” even further? Psychologists are divided. Some see these connections as harmless, even helpful. Others worry that overreliance on AI relationships can make it harder to form meaningful

Tee Kim Hoe Butterworth