A society with prosperity but lacking athletic, artistic and intellectual pursuits will devolve into a crowd of purposeless humans living for the pleasures of the moment.
That's what current generations are. 90% of people have enough to meet needs, and no meaningful purpose in life apart from scrolling tiktok, constant stream of sexualized and otherwise glorified (money, aesthetics) material. The popular culture also glorifies temporary pleasures (drugs, drinking, sexual promiscuity).
Just look at average teenager, their lives revolve around celebrities and these habits. They're lookist, superficial and shallow AF. Of course they will lose mental health thinking about looks and comparing with some photoshopped instagram celebrity.
No wonder they don't have enough stability to sustain ups and downs in life when they lack a purpose, and centered their lives around these hedonistic pleasures.
...lacking athletic, artistic and intellectual pursuits... That's what current generations are... Just look at average teenager
You must be looking at very different teenagers from the ones I am.
I have literally never seen a more athletic, more artistic, or more intellectual generation than ever before.
My parents' generation played one sport, if that. Now teens play four sports and go to pre-professional sports summer camps. My parents' generation didn't know art if it hit them on the head. These days being interested in design is a totally normal thing for teens, whether it's graphic design or interior design or fashion and so forth. My parents' generation all listened to the same music, and played in some pretty bad bands. Now teens create and share insanely creative new music -- across the world, not just limited to their small town. And intellectual pursuits? The proportion of teens applying to Ivy League universities, with all the intellectual rigor that requires, has never been higher. And the academic standards for getting in to those places has never been higher.
Now does this describe all teens? Of course not. But the point isn't to compare teens to some kind of level of perfection, it's to compare them to past generations of teens. And in the areas you're describing -- athletic, artistic, intellectual -- they seem to be doing better than ever before in history. I mean, come on -- think about teens in the 1990's, the 1980's, the 1950's. Hanging out in the parking lot, drinking beers, smoking cigarettes, getting high, wasting time at the mall. I don't know what kind of artistic-intellectual athletes you seem to remember.
The area they're doing worse in is mental health. Because the pressures and expectations on them also seem to be greater than ever before.
So perhaps be a little more charitable and understanding, rather than so judgmental and critical.
Nope. I'm describing the changes within middle-class and upper-middle-class culture across a couple of generations.
All of these changes are extremely well-documented, whether it's the increasing rigor in university admissions, the rise of helicopter parenting and all the associated activities, in sports camps, math camp, robotics camp, etc.
My gut feeling is the gen-Zers doing well intellectually / athletically are probably top 10%, and they dont correlate much with mental health issues. The average teenager is shallow and dumb, constantly looking for validation.
I think this is one of the contributing factors that researchers are pointing to, smartphone use in adolescence encourages a more sedentary lifestyle and less sleeps.
A society with prosperity but lacking athletic, artistic and intellectual pursuits will devolve into a crowd of purposeless humans living for the pleasures of the moment.
I would change this to
A society with prosperity but lacking family and reproductive pursuits will devolve into a crowd of purposeless humans living for the pleasures of the moment.
I am all for family values, but I am not convinced it will guarantee purpose in life and prevent you from spiralling into depression for some other reason.
A society with prosperity but lacking family and reproductive pursuits will devolve into a crowd of purposeless humans living for the pleasures of the moment.
I would change this to
A society with prosperity and whose universal revealed preference across all cultures is to use that prosperity to buy other crap that beats dealing with family and reproductive pursuits will devolve into a crowd of purposeless humans living for the pleasures of the moment.
Comments
You all miss the obvious correlations.
A society with prosperity but lacking athletic, artistic and intellectual pursuits will devolve into a crowd of purposeless humans living for the pleasures of the moment.
That's what current generations are. 90% of people have enough to meet needs, and no meaningful purpose in life apart from scrolling tiktok, constant stream of sexualized and otherwise glorified (money, aesthetics) material. The popular culture also glorifies temporary pleasures (drugs, drinking, sexual promiscuity).
Just look at average teenager, their lives revolve around celebrities and these habits. They're lookist, superficial and shallow AF. Of course they will lose mental health thinking about looks and comparing with some photoshopped instagram celebrity.
No wonder they don't have enough stability to sustain ups and downs in life when they lack a purpose, and centered their lives around these hedonistic pleasures.
You must be looking at very different teenagers from the ones I am.
I have literally never seen a more athletic, more artistic, or more intellectual generation than ever before.
My parents' generation played one sport, if that. Now teens play four sports and go to pre-professional sports summer camps. My parents' generation didn't know art if it hit them on the head. These days being interested in design is a totally normal thing for teens, whether it's graphic design or interior design or fashion and so forth. My parents' generation all listened to the same music, and played in some pretty bad bands. Now teens create and share insanely creative new music -- across the world, not just limited to their small town. And intellectual pursuits? The proportion of teens applying to Ivy League universities, with all the intellectual rigor that requires, has never been higher. And the academic standards for getting in to those places has never been higher.
Now does this describe all teens? Of course not. But the point isn't to compare teens to some kind of level of perfection, it's to compare them to past generations of teens. And in the areas you're describing -- athletic, artistic, intellectual -- they seem to be doing better than ever before in history. I mean, come on -- think about teens in the 1990's, the 1980's, the 1950's. Hanging out in the parking lot, drinking beers, smoking cigarettes, getting high, wasting time at the mall. I don't know what kind of artistic-intellectual athletes you seem to remember.
The area they're doing worse in is mental health. Because the pressures and expectations on them also seem to be greater than ever before.
So perhaps be a little more charitable and understanding, rather than so judgmental and critical.
OTOH you might have changed your social class to one where those activities are more available.
Nope. I'm describing the changes within middle-class and upper-middle-class culture across a couple of generations.
All of these changes are extremely well-documented, whether it's the increasing rigor in university admissions, the rise of helicopter parenting and all the associated activities, in sports camps, math camp, robotics camp, etc.
My gut feeling is the gen-Zers doing well intellectually / athletically are probably top 10%, and they dont correlate much with mental health issues. The average teenager is shallow and dumb, constantly looking for validation.
I'm so sorry you feel that way. But I think it says more about your unfortunate perspective of the world, rather than how the world really is.
I hope you can learn to have more empathy for others at some point, regardless of their age.
I think this is one of the contributing factors that researchers are pointing to, smartphone use in adolescence encourages a more sedentary lifestyle and less sleeps.
This is almost correct.
I would change this to
I am all for family values, but I am not convinced it will guarantee purpose in life and prevent you from spiralling into depression for some other reason.
Indeed, few things are guaranteed.
This is almost correct.
I would change this to
Just another generational shift
"The 2,500-Year-Old History of Adults Blaming the Younger Generation" https://historyhustle.com/2500-years-of-people-complaining-a...
Aren't these all way down with Gen Z? https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/21/generation-z...
The supply of these are down, but popularity and demand of these things are up. That's what causes the crisis.
Now I (as a teenager) am glad that I'm a nerd