#GM. I was helping a young Zoomer yesterday with a lightning swap (for forward privacy) and while my hope for the future was already pretty low, holy crap the amount of handholding involved just about got me as depressed as ever. Especially because it really wasn't about intelligence, but rather focus.
When did it become so much to ask for someone to read more than 50 words? Do I blame TikTok? Maybe -- and while I was about to celebrate the banishment today, it occurs to me a moot point, as Reels and YouTube shorts exist anyway.
Parents, please, don't give your kids this toxic waste. Adults should get to make their free decisions, but seriously, you'd be less harmful to your kids giving them a few beers from time to time than letting them destroy their attention span with these constant short lived dopamine hits. The physical effects that crack has may not be there, but as far as the mental state goes, I can't imagine it's particularly distinguishable in the brain.
They worried about us growing up (I'm a mid-80s Millenial) with the impact of TV (for some of us, hours a day) and at this point looking back, with good reason. But TV to short form video social media is like comparing a little too much coffee to binge smoking crack on a daily basis. All the intelligence in the world can't stop you if you can't be bothered to take the time to focus on something to learn about it. Also -- it's alarmingly problematic when it comes to things like impulse control, which itself requires at least a LITTLE focus, to stop and think "is doing this actually a good idea?" before acting.
I'm not sure that forced reading is necessarily the way forward, but bribed reading may not be the worst option. If nothing else, screen detoxes, and just time spent doing activities that aren't a constant stream of distractions are a must. As someone who has a teenager who hates reading himself, I'm actually all ears to ideas -- so far hockey and skiing seem to be the best options (if only because the adrenaline overrides the need for constant dopamine).
#OldManYellsAtCloud