MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Former Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewelyn says the prevalence of lottery scamming and the distractions of social media are negatively shaping the attitudes and aspirations of young people.

“… This scammer culture, easy money culture that has risen over the last 15 years is so bad for the psychology of young people, because with the advent of social media and scamming you actually will have a cohort of young people who don’t want to work, they don’t want anything that is too hard,” she told the Northern Caribbean University graduating class of 2026 during the second commencement ceremony for 595 graduands on Sunday in Mandeville.

Pointing to her tenure as DPP, Llewelyn said she saw cases where young people were failed by their parents and peers.

“If you want be transformative and to eventually bring value, you cannot do it without being prepared to work hard. And I have prosecuted several people — lawyer, doctor, Indian chief, gunman, gunwoman, you name it, I have prosecuted — and very often, when you look into their background in their social enquiry report, they lacked positive mentors. A lot of them had delinquent parents, they didn’t grow up with any proper value system, or there was no teacher who was prepared to intervene to say, ‘Come back on track,’ ” she said.

Llewelyn also underscored that while social media has its advantages, young people must have emotional intelligence in how they use the platforms and be mindful of its influence on their lives.

“What I have found with all the young people of today — with all the technology and the brilliance — is that some of you tend to be very fragile, and that is why social media can become a toxic force to a lot of you if you don’t have the security of self or the ability to self-actualise and self-motivate,” she said.

“Social media has its good points but it has some very bad points. While I [was] DPP I refused to have any
Instagram account, not even LinkedIn. I am only on WhatsApp, and it is because of my daughter, to communicate with her,” she added.

She highlighted a conversation with a senior banker about how an interviewee failed to land a job due to their use of social media slang.

“I was giving a presentation to some bankers and one of these senior bankers said to me, ‘You know, we were interviewing a young lady, she just graduated. Interviewing her on paper she appeared to have all the qualifications, but can you imagine, Miss Llewellyn, when we were interviewing her she was talking to us in text.’ I said ‘Text, what do you mean by that?’ ” Llewelyn shared, evoking laughter among the audience.

The banker explained: ‘You know, for example when people text you and say LOL for laughing out loud. She is telling us about LOL and the other text that you have…’

“That young lady didn’t get the job because what it showed was a lack of preparation, superficiality, and she is not ready to join the work world, and obviously something is probably wrong with her English. And definitely she has no emotional intelligence, because had she been properly preparing herself and done some research she would be aware that you cannot be going on an interview for a job, and you want people to be taking you seriously, and [yet] you are talking to them in text,” added Llewelyn.

She encouraged the graduating class to have mentors and a clear plan for the next five years.

“… That is what will enable you to be transformative and to have a purpose-driven life, if it is that you are preparing yourself to be Christ-centred and to bring value… Keep an open mind,” she said.