A fucking EPIDEMIC… wtf is this, Gen Z??? Our society is doomed
(media.communities.win)
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I was just thinking about something to this point last week--not necessarily in how they look albeit there's plenty of truth to that too, but more in the case of general life experience. I've got plenty of exposure to family and friends in the 8-20 range, many of which I've been around since they were quite young.
What I find mindblowing is when I think back to myself through the different ages and in comparison they just haven't learned to do anything. Examples, around age 10, I could build (crude) things out wood and nails with actual tools then, unsupervised no less, or do quite a bit of computer programming, do some really basic cooking (I don't mean microwaving), etc. I'd spent so much time with my Dad and my grandfathers in particular just being dragged around with them for whatever they had to do and it was just experience in doing things men do. It wasn't me-centric I was just along for the ride, but you learn from it.
I just find it really sad in that I really can't think of one kid I know personally in this group who's life experience outside of school is anything more than electronic consumption or extremely organized and very kid-centric activities. That's really where I think the Darwinian selection thing you talk about comes in, it's partially just from compounding of weak upbringing. In 30 years, I guess the foreign invaders will do everything, because I can't think of any of these weak youth having built up even simplistic things like motor skills to do any of it.
I know this 16 year old boy who is really smart, does tons of computer stuff, does music recording and production, works on his own car (partially because he doesn't have the money to pay anyone), has a part time job, hustles side jobs, and gets good grades. Father isn't in his life, either, and he takes pretty good care of his single mom.
His friends are less talented than him, but they have jobs and cars that they put work into, one puts effort into writing and performing music (that the other guy produces) on top of working, though his grades are trash because he doesn't care about school.
This is in California, too; probably a higher density of boys like that in red states. Gen Z isn't a complete loss, despite what many might think. The best people like us can do for them is be good examples and get involved in some lives of younger guys.
That's good to hear. I'll just hope my sampling of young people is just a really bad group.
I've noticed that as well. I cannot think of a more disastrous combination than the dysgenic trends in genetics coupled with an entire generation who have no actual life experience or useful practical skills and literally all they know how to do is play on their phones or make Tik Tok videos. I know exactly what you mean.
Growing up my dad was an industrial electrician and makes a point of turning his hand to most trades. My house was a building site growing up and I would always watch my dad or other tradesmen and then I would normally get given jobs to do. You learn by watching someone do it and then doing it yourself. My one grandfather was an electrical engineer and was also a mad inventor type on the side. I used to make money on the side doing all sorts of things for people I knew. I used to fix bikes for people, make things for them. Do things of questionable legality but those skills I developed as a kid have helped me immensely as an adult.
I think a lot like language - that you really need to have picked it up and be talking by a certain age and then be reading and writing at a certain age. I think the fine motor skills needed to do practical work also need to be honed when you're young. I wonder how many of these kids would be able to actually pick them up if they had to? Most western countries are going to become a lot like the USSR in terms of labour availability. In the USSR there were no tradesmen. You worked where you were told and labour was so short. If you needed wiring doing, your roof reshingling or your floor replacing or your car repaired you had to do it yourself.