This is what our fathers and grandfathers said when I belonged to “Today’s Youth.” I locked myself in my room for entire days playing unintelligent products like Wolfenstein 3D, Civilization, and Leisure Suit Larry on PC. Alternating with spending hours on the couch watching cathode ray tube (aka color TV), and preferably watching the not-so-intelligent MTV.
I don't mean to claim that using social media like TikTok is completely devoid of harmful side effects. But it is true that the phrase “they grow up before the gallows and the wheels” about “the youth of today” is actually timeless.
You claim that “young people have proven themselves fundamentally derailed” without providing any objective evidence.
I would argue that if any young person should be dramatically derailed, it should be Generation X. They really had every opportunity to get off track endlessly, including endless student loans and their parents didn't stand in their way in terms of education, oh my god, you're taking a disservice from having a good time, messing around, knowing that, that idea . However, from a social point of view, things have worked out well for Generation X. We have certainly not become less intelligent. What if things went well for today's youth? Like all the young men before them?
One thing is certain, they face increasingly pressing problems on an increasingly global scale than we have ever faced before. I see global social media playing a major role in this. When I look at how different forces intervene in social media and try to control it, I think I'm not the only one who thinks this way.
