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FWIW: Talked about this article over breakfast with one of my three teens (two in middle school, one in high school). I find myself curious about research in ur
by poulsbohemian 4y ago
FWIW: Talked about this article over breakfast with one of my three teens (two in middle school, one in high school). I find myself curious about research in urban areas vs. rural. Here in rural America, we do ok getting kids to turn out for sports, but when I speak with friends in urban areas they are mortified that we let our son play football + they spend a lot more money on competing via travel teams than many of us. Maybe that means more opportunity for their kids, but it adds a level of stress.
He confirmed that many of his friends do have access to social media... but I think we have to define that term. He is constantly interacting with a huge friend group - via chat on his phone. While I know there are risks and concerns, it's a big friend group that also play video games together. So sure, it is different than when we were kids on our bikes roaming the neighborhood, but there's still a tremendous amount of social interaction happening there.
My kids are a bit different... two of them were discussing American foreign policy on a sunny afternoon a few days ago. But, I sincerely think that kids are stressed out for reasons beyond just "social media." We have a number of undocumented persons in our community, and during the last administration, they were legitimately stressed out about whether they would get sent to a camp or sent back to a country they were too young to remember. I meet a lot of young kids questioning their sexuality, etc, who are legitimately very concerned about our national politics and what it means for them. Sure, our unemployment rate is very low, but kids are concerned about the cost of education and whether there will be good jobs available to them in the future. So - frankly, I think kids are stressed out by a lot of the same things as adults, but many may not have the adult support to guide them.
- torstenvl 4y ago> when I speak with friends in urban areas they are mortified that we let our son play football This is the crux of the issue. Behavior – including emotional responses – is learned. And what American youth are being taught is that there is danger around every corner and everything is doomed. The irony, of course, is that the deliberate indoctrination into anxiety only makes danger more prevalent. Sheltered young people never learn to cope with challenges they may face. I think breathless doomsaying about climate change is a brilliant example. The overwhelming zeitgeist is one of learned helplessness. But the more people feel that global disaster is both imminent and inevitable, the fewer people will be motivated to work on the problem.
- bigbillheck 4y ago> Sheltered young people never learn to cope with challenges they may face You can't 'cope' with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
- Ancalagon 4y agoYeah I don't understand this post. There's large amounts of evidence that contact sports, especially football, even in middle school & high school can cause long lasting brain damage. I'm all for team sports and free-range kids but not at the expense of my kid's neurological function. Let them choose literally any other sport.
- poulsbohemian 4y agoI hesitated to mention football in my original post, because I know it is controversial here on HN. I'm not ignorant to the risks. The key things that I think are relevant to this discussion on teens are: -- Playing sports or other group participative activities is so good for them on every level. As the article points out, declining participation is a concern. -- Every activity has risk. Helping kids learn to assess that risk and not be afraid of the world is important in their emotional and mental growth, IE: learning to overcome fears and take calculated risks.
- honkycat 4y agoLol I picked this out as well. Classic "well city folk just don't get it. Here in the country..." People from the country have this bizarre narcissistic need to prove the superiority of the town vs the city, and nothing you tell them about the city can be positive. This for example! City people hate football?? News to me! Better tell the Bears and the Giants to pack it in, the liberal city slickers aren't interested. And I spent the first 20 years of my life in a town of less than 2k people, 5 hours away from the nearest large city, so I say this from experience.
- the_only_law 4y agoThis is just the level of quality to expect from arguments here now.
- lazyeye 4y agoIt's not uncommon for kids concerns to mirror their parents politics. I'm sure the idea that "my kids agree with me is a data point to indicate I'm right" crosses all political boundaries.