Unpopular opinions or views you hold

[Kyle]

Swiping left…or is it right ?

[YellowBib]

As it ever was. The kids who have something have a lot more than ever before though.

[BruidheanChaorthainn]

@YellowBib

As it ever was. The kids who have something have a lot more than ever before though.

Yep the rich have gotten richer and the poorer have gotten poorer.

[backinatracksuit]

It’s hard to put your finger on the exact difficulties, but it’s a lot to do with the pressures created from the smartphones gone and social media, kids aren’t carefree like they used to be, mental health issues are absolutely through the roof.
Overparenting is partly to blame also in my opinion, but as I said, I’m so much happier that I was a kid in the 80s than now.

[Kyle]

It used to be far worse. My father’s generation very few finished school and were out working at 14 … But yeah, there was never poor people until now

[Cheasty]

@backinatracksuit

It’s hard to put your finger on the exact difficulties, but it’s a lot to do with the pressures created from the smartphones gone and social media, kids aren’t carefree like they used to be, mental health issues are absolutely through the roof.
Overparenting is partly to blame also in my opinion, but as I said, I’m so much happier that I was a kid in the 80s than now.

I think the idea of children being carefree in the era before the INTERNET is massively overplayed. Children have never been carefree in the way we imagine with rose tinted glasses. But in order to have a life, you had to live life. You had to do things. You played on the street. You got out and you got in the weeds and got cut. You stayed out until midnight kicking ball. That seemed way more attractive than staying in. You didn’t really have the option of withdrawing from life. That option is there now for children and its one many of them seem to be taking. Staying in seems more attractive. But staying in is shit. Being goggle eyed is shit and promotes unhappiness. We are all goggle eyed now and most of us don’t like it. But we’re addicted, and we wish we weren’t.

[myboyblue]

@YellowBib

As it ever was. The kids who have something have a lot more than ever before though.

Precisely

Aye, there was no one poorly off when we were young.

Christ there’s some dopes on here

[glasagusban]

@Fagan_ODowd

I think what I’ve said is true on every objective analysis

That reminds me I had a conversation with an older fella about music after DJ shadow the other night and I meant to ask you, what about music of the last two decades? How do they compare to decades before? Not favourably in my view.

On life in general across society, I think the internet and smart phones are a huge challenge for children. Granted most of them don’t have the Catholic church to contend with any more and that’s good. Access to housing for younger generations is out of this world different. Wealth is more concentrated in the top percentage than it’s ever been. Fine Gael have been in government for 13 years. Ray Darcy is paid a quarter million a year. I could go on.

[BruidheanChaorthainn]

@Cheasty

@backinatracksuit

It’s hard to put your finger on the exact difficulties, but it’s a lot to do with the pressures created from the smartphones gone and social media, kids aren’t carefree like they used to be, mental health issues are absolutely through the roof.
Overparenting is partly to blame also in my opinion, but as I said, I’m so much happier that I was a kid in the 80s than now.

I think the idea of children being carefree in the era before the INTERNET is massively overplayed. Children have never been carefree in the way we imagine with rose tinted glasses. But in order to have a life, you had to live life. You had to do things. You played on the street. You got out and you got in the weeds and got cut. You stayed out until midnight kicking ball. That seemed way more attractive than staying in. You didn’t really have the option of withdrawing from life. That option is there now for children and its one many of them seem to be taking. Staying in seems more attractive. But staying in is shit. Being goggle eyed is shit and promotes unhappiness. We are all goggle eyed now and most of us don’t like it. But we’re addicted, and we wish we weren’t.

Is it possible every generation of young people face difficulties? Older people seem unable to relate to these difficulties.

[backinatracksuit]

That’s fair enough.

When I was a young lad we didn’t have a pot to piss in, not many did around where I came from, but as kids we were carefree I would say.
I deal with young teenagers now on a daily basis, I have some experience, I’m not just talking in platitudes, a much higher percentage of kids nowadays are very very unhappy, it has nothing to do with money or privilege

[Cheasty]

@backinatracksuit

That’s fair enough.

When I was a young lad we didn’t have a pot to piss in, not many did around where I came from, but as kids we were carefree I would say.
I deal with young teenagers now on a daily basis, I have some experience, I’m not just talking in platitudes, a much higher percentage of kids nowadays are very very unhappy, it has nothing to do with money or privilege

The unhappiness now is both technologically driven and economically driven. The economic difficulties are also to a large extent technologically driven.

The sheer confusion of modern life and the obsession with the self, with individualism and all that that entails in the era of the INTERNET leads to intense unhappiness.

[Juhniallio]

I always thought you taught primary.

[Juhniallio]

@Cheasty

@Fagan_ODowd

Life has never been better than it is now.

In some ways this is true, but the direction of travel is the most important thing. In western societies, the years 1945 to 2001 were marked by an ever present feeling that things were getting better or would get better. There was an idea of a social contract that was meaningful, even if it didn’t always deliver to the extent promised. There was a feeling that there was a long arc of history that bent towards justice. That has been steadily eaten away since September 11th, 2001.

Now we have a sense that the long arc of history bends towards tyranny, that the years 1945-2001 were an aberration, that war, not peace is the default setting of humanity. Ireland might be swimming against that, but then again it might not.

What does prevail now is a sense that things are getting worse, that things are falling apart, and that people are powerless to do anything about it. In terms of wealth inequality, in terms of housing, in terms of climate change, in terms of a social contract. In this country in terms of our seeming inability to deliver meaningful infrastructure. In the world, in terms of war. Positive change now seems impossible. Political systems and bad politics seem to absorb all opposition and nullify it. These political systems seem all out of ideas.

There isn’t even much meaningful culture now. Everything is throwaway. Our information landscape incentivises useless rubbish, lies and fraud and propaganda and stupidity. It promotes isolation and loneliness and a shallow life. Fragmentation dominates. You need some sort of meaningful communality. The INTERNET is helping to destroy real communality in favour of fake and shallow communality which doesn’t satisfy.

Please dont take this as an insult but your outlook is quite negative, for reasons you have outlined. You spend far too much time online by your own admission. There is a fine world out here with loads of normal people with loads of normal problems but who are generally happy. Many people have positive outlooks and a sense that things are good and life is generally good.

[maroonandwhite]

People need to believe in something, all societies that follow religions outlast those that don’t. There’s no meaning for kids now bar striving for celebrity or notoriety? We are the Guinea pigs for the internet. The smokers of the 50s. Saying that there seems to be posters on here every waking hour. Do they get a dopamine hit for likes. Turn off the phone and pull the golf clubs outta the shed for 5 hours. You’ll be like new men.

[myboyblue]

I’m giving that a like

[YellowBib]

I would suggest most of them do not have anymore reason to be unhappy than any previous generation.

[backinatracksuit]

Social media is the big difference (in my opinion)
When I deal with the more serious issues in school it is always social media related, my principal is withered from it

[Little_Lord_Fauntleroy]

Climate change
War in europe
The pandemic

Camera phones
Social media

[BruidheanChaorthainn]

@Little_Lord_Fauntleroy

Climate change
War in europe
The pandemic

Camera phones
Social media

It’s almost like every generation faces different difficulties but lads on here just can’t comprehend looking outside their narrow little world.

[Cheasty]

@Juhniallio

Please dont take this as an insult but your outlook is quite negative, for reasons you have outlined. You spend far too much time online by your own admission. There is a fine world out here with loads of normal people with loads of normal problems but who are generally happy. Many people have positive outlooks and a sense that things are good and life is generally good.

I would think what I wrote is pretty much observable reality. Look around and we have a thriving worldwide fascist movement and conspiracist movement which would likely not exist were it not for the INTERNET and the isolation it promotes. Public discourse is continually plumbing new depths. Society has become increasingly atomised. Community has largely been replaced by consumerism and its offshoots. Public debate itself is now a largely consumerist product, with the dominant strains of it being about clicks and selling snake oil.

My outlook has always been a positive one towards people or things that deserve any sort of a fair hearing. The INTERNET has some positive aspects, but it’s increasingly apparent they’re dwarfed by the negative ones.