America’s dominant culture was something like “Anglo-Christian” right up until the point that it had no meaningful dominant culture. Civic nationalism isn’t a culture that most are willing to get behind anymore because we’ve all seen how it is bastardized by malignant members.
Lamenting the break up into semi-dominant subcultures when balkanization is likely the future doesn’t seem productive. Obviously the socialization data is troubling - it would probably be even worse if you looked at it for adult males.
By the way, any guesses on the long-term success metrics of relationships built on asking someone out at a bar? So many of these articles are pining for a time (the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s) where culture rot had already set in, but it just wasn’t as bad as now. We should be setting our sights on a better target if we are trying to turn the ship onto a better course.
In my opinion, two big reasons of why teenagers go out less often is:
1) there are less places to go - I heard about the problem of closing shared spaces and making cities unwalkable in America, but I think in my country it's also a bit of a problem
2) there is more pressure on teenagers now, especially when it comes to graduating high school and going to college — to get into a prestigious college, a perfect test score and GPA is not enough anymore. You need several extra-curriculars etc., things that take place in the afternoon. In my country, there is a bit tutoring culture and almost all high-schoolers go to extra classes after school, making it hard to meet up with friends.
I think that social media is a big issue and is causing interpersonal skills to diminish, but I also think there's some more depth in this problem.
Though not a 1:1 comparison by any means this article does remind me of the space 1930s Spain found itself in with all elements of Spanish society isolated in to a myriad of political subcultures. Only back then without the internet there wasn’t a digital mechanism to insulate them from each other.
I gotta say I’m not hopeful. At least not for the mass of society. Being normal is going to increasingly be a super power for young people. Good for the normal ones but we will still have to live with the abnormal.
I sincerely hope that those people who grow up with phones will develop an etiquette around its use and how and where to put them away. Perhaps the horrors of social isolation we undergo today are needed for people to rediscover the need for and depth in social interactions.
I wonder what the impact of Covid lockdowns are going to have as all the "Covid Kids" start entering adulthood and taking on roles in industry and culture. The workplace has already been impacted with a significant increase in "remote work" and a dispersed workforce collaborating via Microsoft Teams or Zoom calls. While the younger Millennials were the first digital natives, the Zoomers will be the first remote natives.
Great essay! I’m a teacher too, and I see how the phones have definitely smothered socializing. What gives me hope is that social media and the doom scrolling is ultimately unsatisfying, leaving many such young people hungry for something real.
To your point about clubs (I love Frasier, btw), many schools, at least here in the suburbs, really do go out of their way to offer extra curriculars for every kind of student. Hats off to Marching Band, a tedious unappealing kind of activity that really does show how much kids yearn for community.
As for adults, many of whom probably medicate themselves or find some other unnatural way of coping, they need to get out of their comfort zones and be sociable. So many educated adults don’t know how to talk, and they’re glued to their phones (even kids are better). Again, clubs might be the solution, but my experience is that those who do this are usually on the much-older side.
America’s dominant culture was something like “Anglo-Christian” right up until the point that it had no meaningful dominant culture. Civic nationalism isn’t a culture that most are willing to get behind anymore because we’ve all seen how it is bastardized by malignant members.
Lamenting the break up into semi-dominant subcultures when balkanization is likely the future doesn’t seem productive. Obviously the socialization data is troubling - it would probably be even worse if you looked at it for adult males.
By the way, any guesses on the long-term success metrics of relationships built on asking someone out at a bar? So many of these articles are pining for a time (the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s) where culture rot had already set in, but it just wasn’t as bad as now. We should be setting our sights on a better target if we are trying to turn the ship onto a better course.
In my opinion, two big reasons of why teenagers go out less often is:
1) there are less places to go - I heard about the problem of closing shared spaces and making cities unwalkable in America, but I think in my country it's also a bit of a problem
2) there is more pressure on teenagers now, especially when it comes to graduating high school and going to college — to get into a prestigious college, a perfect test score and GPA is not enough anymore. You need several extra-curriculars etc., things that take place in the afternoon. In my country, there is a bit tutoring culture and almost all high-schoolers go to extra classes after school, making it hard to meet up with friends.
I think that social media is a big issue and is causing interpersonal skills to diminish, but I also think there's some more depth in this problem.
Though not a 1:1 comparison by any means this article does remind me of the space 1930s Spain found itself in with all elements of Spanish society isolated in to a myriad of political subcultures. Only back then without the internet there wasn’t a digital mechanism to insulate them from each other.
I gotta say I’m not hopeful. At least not for the mass of society. Being normal is going to increasingly be a super power for young people. Good for the normal ones but we will still have to live with the abnormal.
I sincerely hope that those people who grow up with phones will develop an etiquette around its use and how and where to put them away. Perhaps the horrors of social isolation we undergo today are needed for people to rediscover the need for and depth in social interactions.
I wonder what the impact of Covid lockdowns are going to have as all the "Covid Kids" start entering adulthood and taking on roles in industry and culture. The workplace has already been impacted with a significant increase in "remote work" and a dispersed workforce collaborating via Microsoft Teams or Zoom calls. While the younger Millennials were the first digital natives, the Zoomers will be the first remote natives.
It's so true that Frasier is a great model. That's part of why I have Niles as my profile picture.
Great essay! I’m a teacher too, and I see how the phones have definitely smothered socializing. What gives me hope is that social media and the doom scrolling is ultimately unsatisfying, leaving many such young people hungry for something real.
To your point about clubs (I love Frasier, btw), many schools, at least here in the suburbs, really do go out of their way to offer extra curriculars for every kind of student. Hats off to Marching Band, a tedious unappealing kind of activity that really does show how much kids yearn for community.
As for adults, many of whom probably medicate themselves or find some other unnatural way of coping, they need to get out of their comfort zones and be sociable. So many educated adults don’t know how to talk, and they’re glued to their phones (even kids are better). Again, clubs might be the solution, but my experience is that those who do this are usually on the much-older side.