Before I made the aforementioned reference to "youth" unironically, I truly didn't feel like high school was that long ago. Reflecting on how I spent my time online a decade ago, however, was no where near as productive. Social media wasn't as all-encompassing as it is today, but it was there.
Something this article doesn't address is the pressure on this age group. When I was a sophomore, I had no idea what I wanted out of life. I thought that making an impact on students as a teacher may feel rewarding, but I remember even then at 15 asking my counselor if that was what I really wanted, or if it was just a job where I understood its purpose and function. Some classmates knew what they wanted to do, or at least a field they wanted to study, but a majority had no clue.
Does the interconnected nature of all of our lives paired with wunderkinds of social justice like Greta Thunberg place even more pressure on kids today? It has been widely discussed how college admissions are having earlier and earlier effects on students, but I had always chalked that up to parent pressure. Are students like Kylie pressured by parents to decide what specialization they want to pursue before they can drive, or are students like Kylie truly just leveraging the tools at their feet to pursue interests? Are students today able to pursue more of their interests from the comfort and security of their own homes via digital means, or are they pressured into deciding what is acceptable for them to pursue?
I really like the questions at the end of your blog and want to give some of my thoughts on them. I think school and media blasting students with "College, college, college" is putting the most pressure on students to "decide on what specialization" they will study. I was teaching seventh graders last year and most of them were very stressed about college already. Stressed, not excited, seventh grade is too early to be stressed about the realities of college. As for your last question, I feel like having access to explore their interests would definitely be a factor, but there does seem to be a lot of pressure to always be doing something productive with your time, so maybe a little bit of both?
ReplyDeleteI also love your GIF up top, my husband and I say that to each other all the time!
Thank you for sharing your experience! Your bring up a great point on productivity for productivity's sake. I've facilitated sessions based around the glorification of busy, and it is a topic that came up in collegian mental health modules, but I never stopped to ponder the effect this mentality had on children. I cannot imagine seventh graders having to be concerned about college while still navigating some of the worst parts of puberty simultaneously!
DeleteThere is a lot on productivity and the glorification of being busy, but if you are interested I recommend this video by YouTuber Tiffany Ferg on Toxic productivity. She has a video series titled "Internet Analysis" in which she deep dives into hopt topics online. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAwCJAU2tjk
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ReplyDeleteThis is interesting! I haven't thought about the teenagers' earlier future planning in associations with the pressure on them. I think you make a really important point. Actually, I have thought positively about preparing for college in earlier phases due to my background.
ReplyDeleteI went to my middle and high schools in a rural area, where most of the students' parents didn't go to college. I observed many students were not thinking seriously about going college until they became seniors and were not well prepared even though desiring higher education. I thought this was mainly because the students had limited immediate network (e.g., family members) with those who have college-related experience and knowledge. This line of thought relates to the reason why I considered social media as playing a positive role in teenagers' future planning.
But now you extended my thought even further. I agree that social media could pressure teenagers mentally, make them compare with others, and even lead them to biased decisions. Things could get even more serious if the teenagers have low levels of digital literacy. Thank you for the great insight!