Email from an old friend:
Hi Tom,
Search: “SCREEN-AGERS Today’s Adolescent: Why Kindness is Missing” on … and watch the 1 hour 40 min video.
Its a good summary that explains much of what is going on now in many aspects of US culture (and I emphasize US cause it’s the outlier nation in almost every way among “developed” nations).
-Your old friend
Short pause. I tried watching the video. Here my response:
Dear old friend,
Got through about first 5-7 minutes. Please! Please! Please. Video is awful and person speaking fits the mould of college grad behaviourist unable to come up with an original thought. Also. She is supposed to be an educated and trained specialist yet she has the vocal-burn of a teenager! As usual, without original thought, what you get from educated adults is: scapegoating. And this is scapegoating of a very special breed. What is this obsession with young people, btw? Why don’t you put more energy into analysing the behaviour of adults, the people in the cesspool of suburban and urban (insert your #Americant city here)? You should be more worried about people/adults that are dependent on dept, that are racist, that watch faux newz.
The problem is not technology or internet or screens. The problem is young people can instinctively see through what adults are doing or have done. A young person’s brain is not corrupted yet by the $hitty environment older people are pushing (upon them). The brain stem—do some falsely refer to this as the reptile brain?–knows instinctively what’s going on in this environment. Because two if not three generations of #Americants have failed-upward in every aspect of their lives they have created an environment of blame (scapegoating) to avoid (their) reality—and it is shameful that it’s being thrown on young people. This is what happens when you can’t think creatively—and your personal and social growth is stunted well into adulthood. This is the environment that gives way to the filth-propaganda of faux newz, info wars with Alex Jones, and of course President Stupid.
BTW. Where are the teenagers that are the cause of President Stupid?
Obviously, young people are in trouble. Their reptile brain knows this. I can see this in Europe, as well. But technology is for most of them an outlet—just rock-n-roll was for us. Or maybe occupying the home phone chatting with friends while we were young. The social norms that kids have to deal with in schools these days is a huge problem. The cause of that problem is not a screen. So perhaps the norms that are dictated by wealth and greed of fail-upwards, mindless parents—NOT by technology or teenagers–should be the issue to address!
-T
-Rant on
worstwriter 