Archana Puran Singh on Gen Z: 'Society teaches them, so why blame the kids?'
Synopsis
Archana Puran Singh isn't just defending Gen Z — she's turning the mirror on adults. The veteran actress argues that a generation raised on cameras, gadgets, and a digitally reshaped world cannot be judged by the standards of those who built that world. It's a sharp, experience-backed rebuke of a very common cultural reflex.
Key Takeaways
Archana Puran Singh defended Gen Z , saying children reflect the environment society and parents create for them.
She argued that comparing younger generations to older ones is 'not fair' given the vastly different circumstances each grows up in.
The actress highlighted technology — including cameras and computers — as defining features of Gen Z 's world, not flaws of character.
She distinguished between genuine misbehaviour and the broader cultural criticism of young people for simply adapting to modern life.
Archana was last seen in 'Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya' , directed by Himank Gaur , alongside Kay Kay Menon and others.
Veteran actress Archana Puran Singh has come out strongly in defence of Gen Z, arguing that society has grown excessively judgmental of today's young people while ignoring its own role in shaping their behaviour. Speaking in an interview, the actress said children are a direct reflection of the environment adults have built around them — and that blaming them is fundamentally unfair.
What Archana Puran Singh Said
'I feel that as a society, we have become very judgemental. We are judging our kids now. If the kids of this time are like this, then there is a reason for it, right? The kids will be like the environment. If you change the environment, the kids will change. So, it's not their fault,' she said.
The actress drew a direct line between parenting, societal influence, and child behaviour, questioning the logic of holding children accountable for traits they were never born with. 'The kids are not born learning anything, right? You teach them. Society teaches them. So, how are we blaming the kids?' she added.
On Technology and a Changed World
Archana also addressed the role of technology in shaping the current generation, noting that Gen Z is growing up in circumstances that previous generations could not have imagined. 'It's not their fault that they get a camera at the age of one. So, you can't really say right or wrong,' she said.
She elaborated that each generation adapts to the world it inherits. 'We were born in a certain time, so we behaved according to that time. Now, they are born in this age. You have given them all these instruments... the gadgets they have, computers and everything that we couldn't even imagine in our dreams — that is the world they are born in. They have to adapt to it. That is their life,' she said.
Notably, the actress drew a distinction between genuine misbehaviour — which she acknowledged has existed across generations — and the broader, often unfair criticism directed at young people today simply for using technology.
Comparing Generations Is Unfair, She Says
Archana also pushed back against the common tendency to compare younger generations unfavourably with their predecessors. 'If I have grandchildren tomorrow and they behave in a certain way, and if I compare that my kids didn't behave like this etc, it's not fair,' she said, underscoring that generational differences in behaviour are rooted in context, not character.
This comes amid a broader national conversation in India about screen time, parenting in the digital age, and the mental health of young people — debates that have intensified following the widespread adoption of smartphones and social media among children.
Archana Puran Singh: Career and Recent Work
With over four decades in the Indian entertainment industry, Archana Puran Singh is among the most recognised faces on Indian television and film. She was most recently seen in the web series 'Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya', where she played the character of Urmila Devi to considerable acclaim.
The series, created by Biswapati Sarkar and Sameer Saxena and directed by Himank Gaur, also stars Kay Kay Menon, Naveen Kasturia, Abhimanyu Singh, Deven Bhojani, Prasanna Bisht, Ajitesh Gupta, Annapurna Soni, and Prachee Shah.
As the debate around Gen Z and digital parenting continues to evolve, voices like Archana's — rooted in experience rather than alarm — may offer a more grounded framework for how Indian society talks about its youngest generation.
Point of View
Short attention spans, entitlement. What she is pointing to, without naming it, is the structural hypocrisy of a society that handed children smartphones, built an attention economy around them, and then expressed dismay at the results. The more interesting question her comments raise is not whether Gen Z is 'worse' — it isn't, by most measurable indicators — but whether Indian parents and institutions are equipped to parent in a digital environment they themselves do not fully understand. That gap, not the children, is the real story.
NationPress
5 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Archana Puran Singh say about Gen Z?
Archana Puran Singh said society has become excessively judgmental of Gen Z and that children's behaviour is shaped by the environment adults create. She argued it is unfair to blame children for adapting to a world built by previous generations.
Why does Archana Puran Singh think comparing generations is unfair?
She said each generation grows up in different circumstances, and behaviour is a product of that context. Comparing today's children to those of earlier eras ignores the radically different technological and social environment Gen Z has inherited.
What is Archana Puran Singh's view on technology and children?
She said it is not children's fault that they are born into a world with cameras, computers, and gadgets that earlier generations could not have imagined. She said children must adapt to the world they are born into, and that is simply their reality.
What has Archana Puran Singh been working on recently?
She was most recently seen in the web series 'Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya', where she played Urmila Devi. The series was created by Biswapati Sarkar and Sameer Saxena, directed by Himank Gaur, and also stars Kay Kay Menon and Naveen Kasturia, among others.
How long has Archana Puran Singh been in the entertainment industry?
Archana Puran Singh has been active in the Indian entertainment industry for over four decades, making her one of its most enduring figures across film and television.
