Six-Pocket Syndrome | 22 Oct 2025

Source:IE 

Why in News? 

A Kaun Banega Crorepati episode featuring a child’s overconfident behaviour towards Amitabh Bachchan has sparked debate on overindulgent parenting among Generation Alpha (people born from 2010-2024/25), which experts link to the “Six-Pocket Syndrome.” 

What is Six-Pocket Syndrome? 

• About:  The Six-Pocket Syndrome, a term from China’s one-child policy era (1979-2015), describes how one child was doted on by six adults (two parents and four grandparents) who poured all their affection and resources into them. 
  • This overindulgence fostered entitlement and a sense that every wish deserves to be fulfilled, leaving little room for discipline, patience, or empathy. 
• Indian Context:  In India, the Six-Pocket Syndrome is common in urban middle-class families, where working parents and indulgent grandparents shower children with attention, gifts, and leniency.  
  • This overcompensation fosters a belief in the right to demand and be rewarded instantly, without understanding effort, boundaries, or consequences.  
• Sociological Perspective: Reflects the shift from a responsibility-based society (where children contribute and adapt) to a right-based society (where children feel entitled to comfort and attention). 
  • Erving Goffman’s “Dramaturgical Perspective”:  Explains how modern children, shaped by family and media, learn to perform roles that attract validation rather than build character.  
    • Childhood becomes a stage for social approval rather than moral learning. 
  • Zygmunt Bauman’s “Liquid Modernity”: States that society now prioritises instant gratification, fluid identities, and social visibility over long-term emotional grounding. 
• Psychological and Behavioural Effects: 
  • Low frustration tolerance: The child cannot handle rejection, denial, or criticism. 
  • Reward-demanding behaviour: They associate love with material rewards and expect instant gratification. 
  • Emotional immaturity: Limited capacity for patience, empathy, or self-control. 
  • Dependency and fragility: The child struggles with autonomy and resilience when facing failure or peer pressure. 
    • In severe cases, such children may exhibit tantrums, aggression, or anxiety when denied their wishes. 
  • Long-term Consequences: Children raised under the Six-Pocket Syndrome often develop ego-centric behaviour, which can strain relationships.  
    • Over time, this may increase their vulnerability to aggression, substance abuse, and mental health challenges. 

What are the Challenges Facing Generation Alpha? 

• Impatience and Instant Gratification: Growing up in a digital world of one-click solutions and fast content, Generation Alpha struggles with delayed gratification. 
  • They expect quick results and often lack patience, persistence, and tolerance for failure. 
• Overconfidence and Entitlement: Constant validation both at home and online breed excessive self-assurance without competence. 
  • This results in low humility, difficulty accepting criticism, and unrealistic self-perception. 
• Erosion of Behavioural Norms: With social interactions increasingly mediated through screens, children show declining respect for elders, authority, and social etiquette. 
  • Exposure to unfiltered online content normalises informality and irreverence in language and conduct. 
• Emotional Fragility and Mental Health Issues: Overprotection, combined with constant comparison on social media, weakens emotional resilience. 
  • Rising levels of anxiety, irritability, and self-esteem issues are evident among school-age children. 
• Declining Social and Empathic Skills: Reduced face-to-face interaction limits their ability to read emotions, negotiate differences, or handle conflict. 
  • Virtual connections often replace real friendships, creating emotional isolation. 
• Consumerism: Influencer culture promotes materialism and a performative lifestyle, where self-worth depends on visibility and possessions. 
• Overdependence on Technology: Early digital exposure leads to reduced creativity, shorter attention spans, and addictive behaviour. 
  • The ability to think critically or solve problems independently is gradually diminishing. 
• Data and Privacy Risks: Generation Alpha is the first fully datafied generation, with their information collected from birth. 
  • This raises legal and ethical concerns under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) provisions on child rights. 

What can be a Corrective Model of Parenting and Society for Generation Alpha? 

• Link Rewards to Effort, Not Entitlement: Children should earn privileges through achievements or responsibilities, preventing the “right-to-reward” mindset seen in the Six-Pocket Syndrome. 
  • Supported by UNCRC article 5, which emphasises guidance and direction in line with the child’s evolving capacities. 
• Instil Emotional Resilience: Exposure to controlled failure, constructive criticism, and problem-solving builds patience, adaptability, and emotional regulation. 
  • India’s National Policy for Children (2013) encourages resilience-building programmes in schools and communities. 
• Promote Responsibility: Assign chores, peer group activities, and community engagement to teach empathy, cooperation, and civic responsibility which aids in development of social responsibility and respect for societal values. 
• Balance Affection with Boundaries: Families must prevent overindulgence and impulsive entitlement. Extended family support should reinforce discipline rather than compensate for indulgence. 
  • Indian legal frameworks like the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, stress the role of family in guiding children’s moral development. 
• Regulate Digital Exposure: Monitor online activity, social media use, and reality TV exposure. 
  • Information Technology Rules, 2021 and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) guidelines mandate protection of children from cyberbullying, exploitative content, and online harassment. 
  • International practices, like UNICEF’s Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection, encourage age-appropriate exposure and digital literacy. 
  • Schools, communities, and digital platforms must work collaboratively to create safe, nurturing, and disciplined environments. 

Conclusion 

Generation Alpha is technologically advanced but emotionally underprepared. The challenge for society is to raise not just smart children, but responsible, empathetic, and grounded citizens balancing digital fluency with emotional intelligence and respect for shared values.