I watched an interesting YouTube video called The Dark Reality of Generation Alpha.

Here are my notes taken while watching it.

• A generation unlike any other
• They don’t watch TV—they consume content via handheld devices.
• They watch age-inappropriate videos on YouTube; Paw Patrol characters attempting suicide, violence, Peppa Pig tricked into cannibalism, etc.
• Rapid decline in attention spans.
• “A 2015 Microsoft study shows that the average consumer has an attention span of eight seconds down from 12 seconds back in 2000. That’s a shorter attention span than a goldfish.” (1:54)
• Generation Alpha is becoming Generation Goldfish.
• Children today spend 4-6 hours a day watching or using screens.
• The Age of Stupid: Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Stupidity. (3:04)
  • We tend to fixate on idea of evil, but stupidity is where the real threat lies.
  • While we can protest against or fight evil people, against stupid people we are defenseless—reasons fall on deaf ears.
• Growing decline in mental health, prosperity, and happiness.
• Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD).
• Durkheim’s anomie: breakdown of any moral values, standards, or guidance for individuals to follow.
• High amounts of social media use predicts high levels of grandiose narcissism.
• It is not Generation Alpha’s fault—parents of today are far softer parents than parents of yesteryears. —> “the lunatics are running the asylum”.
• Permissive parenting: a child-centered approach to raising children.
  • Nothing comes good from this approach to raising children.
  • Children raised by permissive parents are prone to developing an inflated sense of entitlement, and their sense of entitlement can result in an increased anxiety, and unwillingness to accept constructive criticism.
  • Children are motivated by the pursuit of admiration and validation from others rather than adhering to moral principles.
• We are becoming more fragmented and far more tribal in nature.
• We are less willing than ever to engage with others who hold different opinions.
• The University of Chicago’s General Social Survey found in 2021 that three in 10 gen Z males aged 18 to 25 reported having gone without sex the previous year. One in four gen Z women also reported having no sex in the previous year. (10:06)
  • No one’s dating, no one’s having friends.
• More and more young children today are developing virtual autism.