“Good boy.”
These words are often spoken to a child after he gives a performance that meets the expectations of the parent, teacher or some figure of authority.
From a young age, the child realises that, in order to be accepted and validated, he has to pander to the system.
He slowly stops being a human being and becomes an automaton.
One who is always seconding guessing himself and waiting for instructions.
Playing safe and wondering what the boss will think of him is his default way of thinking.
A good boy is an artificial human whose actions are driven not by inner conviction but by fear of retribution and the need for validation.
Indeed, the good boy syndrome is prevalent among the well educated humans in white collar professions.
It starts from the four-year-old who colours neatly between the lines, to the 50-year-old who laughs sheepishly at the boss’s lame jokes.
Life is life
Fabio is a mental health professional, researcher, and lecturer of psychology at Kenyatta University.