Look you don’t talk about the big big thing. Kids these days don’t know shit. Profs at major universities say they can barely read, much less write a good paragraph, and don’t know basic math. Plus they’re staggeringly closed minded. I was a prof for 30 years myself and it’s true. The average student has gotten worse and worse. And it is DEFINITELY the screens. But otoh, the best students are far far better, and far more interesting and morally developed people too—because of the screens. The screens are like the little girl with the curl: very very good or very very bad. But the bad is obviously swamping the good and every teacher knows it.
This was a good nuanced approach. Parenting approaches are never going to be one size fits all, and the safest course is usually going to be some sort of moderation.
I'd love to hear your take on this issue, specifically in relationship to the concept of evolutionary mismatch. As the world continues to stray ever further from our ancestral environments, doesn't that virtually guarantee problems will continue to arise for us as a species (in spite of the benefits/"good" it also brings)? I worry that we're all increasingly becoming like orcas at Sea World with our dorsal fins warped over.
I’m a long time student of Bowen Family Systems theory. (I’m a retired Episcopal priest and clinical social worker, director of a post graduate training program in Bowen theory). One concept Murray Bowen’s theory considers is called Emotional Process in Society and observes how anxiety impacts families and whole societies. Societal regression is one aspect, societal progression is another, each with symptoms or behaviors. You raise many of the points a practitioner of Bowen theory observes in the USA today, a time of both progression in some ways and regression in others. Thank you, this was very interesting to read and I’ll save it for my presentation to the class on emotional process in society.
The source of the anxiety and unhappiness may be that screens take time away from resilience building, which happens when kids must find their way through real world social situations. Reading a book is a journey through someone else's real world social situations so counts in a way short tik tok clips or doom scrolling would not. But also, girls in particular suffer when forced into comparison with others. Rates of anxiety for girls also peaked during the late 80's when glossy mags they skimmed promoted impossible beauty standards - are these studies you bring up making any of these connections?
Look you don’t talk about the big big thing. Kids these days don’t know shit. Profs at major universities say they can barely read, much less write a good paragraph, and don’t know basic math. Plus they’re staggeringly closed minded. I was a prof for 30 years myself and it’s true. The average student has gotten worse and worse. And it is DEFINITELY the screens. But otoh, the best students are far far better, and far more interesting and morally developed people too—because of the screens. The screens are like the little girl with the curl: very very good or very very bad. But the bad is obviously swamping the good and every teacher knows it.
This was a good nuanced approach. Parenting approaches are never going to be one size fits all, and the safest course is usually going to be some sort of moderation.
I'd love to hear your take on this issue, specifically in relationship to the concept of evolutionary mismatch. As the world continues to stray ever further from our ancestral environments, doesn't that virtually guarantee problems will continue to arise for us as a species (in spite of the benefits/"good" it also brings)? I worry that we're all increasingly becoming like orcas at Sea World with our dorsal fins warped over.
This is, IMO, a fair and good faith effort to understand a serious issue.
What happened at the time things went bad, and primarily affects English-speaking countries? Rupert Murdoch / Fox News.
I’m a long time student of Bowen Family Systems theory. (I’m a retired Episcopal priest and clinical social worker, director of a post graduate training program in Bowen theory). One concept Murray Bowen’s theory considers is called Emotional Process in Society and observes how anxiety impacts families and whole societies. Societal regression is one aspect, societal progression is another, each with symptoms or behaviors. You raise many of the points a practitioner of Bowen theory observes in the USA today, a time of both progression in some ways and regression in others. Thank you, this was very interesting to read and I’ll save it for my presentation to the class on emotional process in society.
It's a repugnant conclusion. It's the best time to be young from the perspective of each moment, but the worst time to be young overall.
The source of the anxiety and unhappiness may be that screens take time away from resilience building, which happens when kids must find their way through real world social situations. Reading a book is a journey through someone else's real world social situations so counts in a way short tik tok clips or doom scrolling would not. But also, girls in particular suffer when forced into comparison with others. Rates of anxiety for girls also peaked during the late 80's when glossy mags they skimmed promoted impossible beauty standards - are these studies you bring up making any of these connections?