Hello, I think there is a serious societal crisis underway. This crisis manifests itself in the high rates of anxiety, depression, pessimism, anger, attention disorders, etc. within school children. I think we need to discuss this crisis and its causes.
I do not have deeply developed thoughts on it, but I will try to generate some discussion. Let me start with asking some questions:
- Why are school children suffering from so many disorders? What are the sources of depression, anxiety, anger, pessimism / nihilism, disinterest, detachment, etc.?
- Should we situate the problem at a family level, national level, or global level? Or, does the crisis cut across all of these?
- Is the crisis primarily in the minds of the students? Or, is it because of the material organization of society? Or, both?
My thoughts on the multifaceted yet interconnected sources of the crisis:
Economy: The economic circumstances of contemporary society exerts an immense amount of pressure on individuals within nearly every age bracket. The children within school today begin to feel the competitive pressures of academic achievement in order to realize future economic opportunities at a very early age. These pressures are quite different than the pressures experienced 50 years ago. Previously, students could drop out of high school and still obtain a job that offers decent living wages. Grocery stores up until the 1990s are an example of this. There is now much more competitive pressure and far less economic opportunity. The younger generations recognize both the pressures and the bleak economic prospects. The inability to live up to these pressures make them question their own self-value.
Identity Confusion: The social norms have become increasingly problematized and contested, and I think without establishing relatively stable and inclusive norms, the children experience confusion in relation to these norms. For example, as a society, does not have coherent, consensual answers to questions such as: what is sex / gender? which sexual orientations are acceptable? which models of femininity / masculinity should be embraced? how much should I sexualize myself?
However, these questions are not restricted to the sexual realm. They also include questions such as: which political leaders and politics should I support? is capitalism good or bad? what is the meaning of nationality? who belongs to the nation? should I eat meat or not? does humanity even have a future?
I believe that the de-stabilized, contested nature of contemporary societal norms results in intensified confusion amongst younger generations because the problematization of the norms simultaneously entails the problematization of the various dimensions of their identities. It is good that the norms have been critically questioned to make them more inclusive, but now our identities are no longer naturally given as they once were. To navigate the de-stabilized identity norms can be very confusing.
Fragmented Communities: The contested nature of the social norms expresses the fragmented nature of contemporary societies. We live in heightened levels of individualism, social division, interpersonal separation, and group segregation. It seems to me that within such a cultural atmosphere, children play outside far less than they used to, feel much more disconnected from the larger society, and experience themselves as less recognized / more isolated. The feeling of common trust, reciprocal association, shared direction within society has collapsed. Such an overwhelmingly private, separated, and distrusting form of contemporary life is not delivering high levels of fulfilment to the younger generations.
Climate Change and the Lack of Progress: The feeling of hope arises by establishing a positive relation to the future. Unfortunately, climate change negates the younger generations positive relation to the future. We, as a society, are failing to overcome contemporary problems. Our children feel let down by us. Rather than progress, the society seems to be descending further into conflict and de-stabilization. The feelings of pessimism, despair, and hopelessness experienced by school children are generated by contemporary society's inability to provide them with a comfortable, healthy future.
Family Problems: The economic problems, social separations, and political and normative conflicts deeply affect families as more families are becoming divided over normative and political conflicts, collapsing due to economic turmoil, and / or dissolving due drug / mental health problems. The general societal crisis implies a crisis of the home. An increasing amount of children are no longer being brought up within stable, supportive family households. Intergenerational divides are becoming worse as the worlds of adults and children are increasingly separated and mutually misunderstood.
The Impacts of the Crises on Children: Everywhere the children are looking they are being confronted with more and more problems. It seems to me that they perceive a disintegrating society suffering from massive inequality, climate disaster, destabilized norms, and minimal hope of overcoming the issues. The children do not feel empowered nor adequately recognized. Their voices and concerns are generally dismissed by the public at large. Consequently, their nerves are so fried that they must drug themselves to remain calm. The increasing turn to both prescribed and unprescribed drugs is an attempt to escape the bleak realities they confront. The conflicted world in which they live has been and continues to upset their self-relation.
The expressed views are merely my own. I am interested to hear how others view the situation.
(Btw, apologies for the long post and pessimistic narrative)
Submitted October 14, 2023 at 03:23AM by kgbking https://ift.tt/yDOzHMm
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