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Having directed this to my teenaged younger sibling (he is intelligent and expressive) he explained in his view, teenagers have a poor prognosis for their caree
by SolaceQuantum 9y ago
Having directed this to my teenaged younger sibling (he is intelligent and expressive) he explained in his view, teenagers have a poor prognosis for their career prospects and are aware of this. Technology allows them to be aware that life doesn’t look good for them, that they cannot look forward to retirement, to a stable long term career, that the amount of education and debt they will need to accrue is ever-increasing, that their success in this society will rely on using and stepping on others who will now have less as a result, if not in their own community then in the international stage. He attends one of the best schools in the nation and he believes most of his peers feel the same pressures both of their career prospects and their place in the greater international stage and all the things that are wrong with it that they cannot change because they cannot be in a position to change with any sense of ease (e.g. to have enough money to buy jeans not made via human exploitation requires an amount of success that feels as if it is becoming rarer,and even then how do you help people who cannot afford them to avoid exploiting other humans)
All in all, I think a growing awareness of the worlds problems and their individual struggles to be in a position for themselves is a pretty good reason for teenagers to feel more anxious and depressed.
- akhilcacharya 9y ago> that life doesn’t look good for them, that they cannot look forward to retirement, to a stable long term career, that the amount of education and debt they will need to accrue is ever-increasing > attends one of the best schools in the nation um, what? I get this feeling if you don't go to one of the best schools in the nation - like me - but I'd be very surprised to see the same attitude at Harvard or Stanford. Those guys are so happy!
- draw_down 9y agoThey know they've been swindled. At some level, Boomers know it too, which is why they prefer to focus on the phone stuff. Millenials can't afford to buy houses because they pay too much for iPhones, not because their jobs pay shit and housing prices have gone way up and they're drowning in student debt. Et cetera.
- downandout 9y ago>their success in this society will rely on using and stepping on others who will now have less as a result That reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of economics. While there are indeed predatory business models where this is true - casinos etc. - most highly successful people and businesses become successful by creating value, not siphoning it from others.
- SolaceQuantum 9y agoHighly successful businesses like Apple, which are closely related to Foxconn and the horrors of labor there. That we know many elements that go into our technology may be sourced from dubious environments, unsafe working conditions, potentially human rights violations and war. That’s what he meant when I asked him. By consuming anything in the system one is contributing to the systems oppression internationally, and there isn’t an easy way to stop.
- downandout 9y agoFoxconn and the horrors of labor there Would you prefer that they starve to death because they have no work? I assure you, that's worse than working at Foxconn.
- SolaceQuantum 9y agoSo teenagers have to comfort themselves by knowing that they subject people to either starve or dehumanizing living conditions/work that strips people of any sense of self or comfort. This definitely helps with anxiety and depression.
- superbrama 9y agoThe adolescent was likely referring to a broader social perspective, not consumer oriented business models. The adolescent here could be observing a short term trend relative to an underlying bigger picture. People are competitive by nature and the modern information age may be amplifying this for them, at least in perception.
- 9y ago