As a fellow millennial and Vice City alumni I agree with you and Gareth Southgate.
But I also think that the quantity of time that kids are spending online and in front of screens is playing a bigger part than we recognise. We didn’t have smartphone on us 24/7. And of course content producers have gotten better at making their stuff visually stimulating and addictive.
Funnily enough though, a few weeks ago I had some late night sessions playing GTA for the first time in about 15 years and noticed afterwards that I was driving faster and accelerating much hard in the car IRL!
The dark patterns of modern design is the biggie for me. Addictiveness is being optimised for. Back in the day it was just a happy accident (for developers).
I don’t fret about the contents of what they’re exposed to (oh no, nudity and violence, how outlandish, how will humans cope…) but the format it’s presented being designed to screw with their brains ain’t good.
We didn’t have smartphone on us 24/7. And of course content producers have gotten better at making their stuff visually stimulating and addictive.
Yeah I think both of those could be reasons why young people have problems today. Another reason could be the Covid lockdowns, which resulted in young people spending more time online, and less time in the real world.
When I was young I spent some time online, using internet forums etc. But the most fun I had was when I socialised with real people in the real world.
I think health problems are one type of problem that young people are facing, and the news has talked about mental health in particular being a growing problem for young people.
I think Sir Gareth has identified some of the problems too. Lack of healthy role models, abundance of unhealthy role models. Abundance of porn, especially unhealthy porn. Negative effects of social media. Etc.
As a fellow millennial and Vice City alumni I agree with you and Gareth Southgate.
But I also think that the quantity of time that kids are spending online and in front of screens is playing a bigger part than we recognise. We didn’t have smartphone on us 24/7. And of course content producers have gotten better at making their stuff visually stimulating and addictive.
Funnily enough though, a few weeks ago I had some late night sessions playing GTA for the first time in about 15 years and noticed afterwards that I was driving faster and accelerating much hard in the car IRL!
The dark patterns of modern design is the biggie for me. Addictiveness is being optimised for. Back in the day it was just a happy accident (for developers).
I don’t fret about the contents of what they’re exposed to (oh no, nudity and violence, how outlandish, how will humans cope…) but the format it’s presented being designed to screw with their brains ain’t good.
Yeah I think both of those could be reasons why young people have problems today. Another reason could be the Covid lockdowns, which resulted in young people spending more time online, and less time in the real world.
When I was young I spent some time online, using internet forums etc. But the most fun I had was when I socialised with real people in the real world.
Yeah, it was the same for me. And I think you’re right about the lockdowns too. Apparently those kids even have lower IQs as a result…
Out of curiosity, what problems are you referring to?
I think this is an example:
That’s probably mostly due to post-covid illness. Its not only long covid, it can trigger many other illnesses unfortunately.
This doesn’t provide any insight into the problems young people are facing, only the consequences.
I think health problems are one type of problem that young people are facing, and the news has talked about mental health in particular being a growing problem for young people.
Lack of employment generally (not just health related) seems to be a problem - apparently the percentage of young people who aren’t in employment, education, or training is increasing.
I think Sir Gareth has identified some of the problems too. Lack of healthy role models, abundance of unhealthy role models. Abundance of porn, especially unhealthy porn. Negative effects of social media. Etc.