Numb Linkin Park Essay

“ I’m tired of being what you want me to be. Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface”. These two lines basically sums up the song ‘Numb’ from a legendary hard rock music band Linkin Park in 2003. This particular song conveys its message in a powerful manner which calls out to those who are sick and tired of being told to fit in to become social norms. In my opinion, this song reflects the youths today who are facing social problems such as loneliness, isolation and also depression.

First of all, the song indicates the fact that people nowadays often follow trends and crowd mentality. For example, teens feel that they could relate to it as they tend to be forced to normality. In this case, teens who has a different point of view or a different mindset would be called as a ‘odd’ one in society. They would be judged and criticised when their behaviour does not suite the needs of society.

Consequently, they would feel lonely as neither of their families nor friends are able to understand their situation. In short, being forced to fit in could cause loneliness and eventually lead to isolation.

In addition, teens would also feel isolated and bullied when they are judged by people around them. This can be seen in the music video as the girl was neglected and teased after being told off by her teacher. In reality, statistics shows that 28% of students from high school had a history of being a victim of bullying. Students who faced bullying and isolation could have low self-esteem. They tend to feel down and helpless about themselves. Besides, their academic performance would also deteriorate. On the whole, isolation and bullying could affect ones mental health.

Subsequently, I feel that long term of loneliness and social isolation could lead to depression. Researches showed that depression is experiences by 20% of people during their teen years. As the lyrics goes ‘By becoming this all I want to do is be more like me and be less like you’, teens would feel pressured to adapt themselves into someone they don’t want to be. Therefore, they would feel depressed when the people around could not understand their struggles. In other words, teens who are teased for being different than others often face depression.

All in all, there is no doubt that being socially isolated and bullied could cause several social problems. The song ‘Numb’ definitely voices out the inner struggle of teenagers today. Hence, it is extremely important for us to express out our feelings to overcome our problems.