It was the "Isip Bata" segment on "It's Showtime" that got the show in trouble recently with the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

The MTRCB on Monday, 4 September, issued its decision to suspend ABS-CBN's noontime show for 12 airing days over its 25 July episode.

So what happened in that episode that got flagged?

It was the icing-licking moment between hosts Vice Ganda and Ion Perez that was the "alleged indecent act."

"Isip bata" in English means having the mind of a child. To people's eyes, however, the actions of the hosts were neither childish nor childlike, knowing their real-life relationship.

The MTRCB explained that what others saw as being "too strict" — viewers who probably did not like the idea of missing the entertainment that It's Showtime delivers — "multiple viewers had filed complaints regarding the episode's Isip Bata segment."

This latest showbiz fracas brings to mind a talk delivered by Canadian writer Malcolm Gladwell at the SMX Convention Center Manila on the same day the MTRCB issued its decision.

The rare opportunity to listen to the famed author in person highlighted the kickoff of SM's 65th-anniversary celebration.

As keynote speaker of SM Supermalls' Tenant-Partners Summit, Gladwell shared his thoughts on what makes the new generation tick, in the context of a social movement as it affects retail and business.

The mall management had also invited Emma Chiu, global director of Wunderman Thompson, a creative agency, to deliver her trend report in this "age of anxiety," as she stated at the beginning of her 20-minute talk.

One thing that stood out that afternoon was this: The world is not the same, and we must understand it in order to navigate it.

Gladwell was right to point out that there is neither better nor worse in the disparities we see nowadays.

In other words, the old versus the new generations is not a battle — it should be understood as being different and taken to inspire people to create.

The social media age can be reviewed from the last two decades, when the young generation today was being molded in a world without borders, as they say.

The youth today make decisions based on different triggers, valuing experience, connection, and inclusivity more than anything.

Gladwell thinks "it's because the world they grew up in had no spontaneity." He cites a list of 21 rules he saw in a playground, where one might imagine kids learning to be less "joyful" and carefree as compared to those kids who grew up surviving bumps and bruises and scratches in kindergarten.

In a "world far more controlled, far more regulated," Gladwell said, people "crave a return to this kind of mass participation, a shared common cultural experience."

To the youth, brands or wealth have less influence than spontaneity and authenticity. And why is spontaneity so prized? The "spontaneity makes it feel real," the writer summed up.

In a world constantly in flux, how we shape young minds still matters even though our world today shows these same minds are no longer influenced by the same rules.