Are social media and paranoid parenting the reason the young are suffering?

Should call it what it is.... anti-social media.

feywon said:

I will. He does have a YouTube channel but when i searched for him there it also turned up a lot of interviews with various outlets including the WSJ and repeat visits with Ari Melber on MSNBC.

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I looked up Yuval and listened to him for awhile. The direction of mankind, now that this new invention is here, AI, is very interesting to me. When listening to Yuval I remembered all I learned in Buddhist philosophy that is so similar. Here are some similarities:

Yuval Noah Harari, particularly in his works like Sapiens and Homo Deus, and Buddhist philosophy share striking similarities in their understanding of "conditioned existence," though they arrive at these conclusions from different frameworks (historical/scientific vs. contemplative/spiritual).
Here are the key similarities:
* Impermanence (Anicca): Both Harari and Buddhism emphasize the impermanent nature of all phenomena.
* Buddhism: A core tenet is anicca, meaning all conditioned things are constantly changing, fleeting, and have no lasting essence. This applies to physical objects, thoughts, emotions, and even the "self."
* Harari: He argues that human societies, cultures, beliefs, and even our very understanding of "humanity" are constructs that have evolved and are continuously changing. He highlights how "imagined orders" like nations, money, and religions are not inherent truths but rather collective fictions that have shaped our existence and are subject to change or collapse. Even our biological and cognitive makeup, according to Harari, is a product of evolutionary conditioning and subject to future alteration through technology.
* No Permanent Self (Anatta): This is perhaps the most profound overlap.
* Buddhism: The doctrine of anatta (non-self) states that there is no fixed, unchanging, independent "self" or soul. What we perceive as a self is merely a collection of ever-changing physical and mental components (skandhas) arising and ceasing in dependence on conditions.
* Harari: He extensively argues against the notion of a stable, authentic, or free individual self. He views the "self" as a constantly shifting narrative or a "fictional tale concocted by an assembly of biochemical algorithms." Our thoughts, desires, and even what we perceive as "free will" are, from his perspective, largely determined by biological and cultural conditioning, and increasingly by algorithms in the age of AI.
* Suffering (Dukkha) Arising from Craving/Attachment:
* Buddhism: The First Noble Truth states that life is dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness, unease), and the Second Noble Truth attributes this suffering to craving or attachment (tanha) to impermanent phenomena and the illusion of a permanent self.
* Harari: While not using the same terminology, Harari often points to how our pursuit of happiness, meaning, and control over existence, based on "imagined orders" and the illusion of a stable self, inevitably leads to dissatisfaction and new forms of suffering. He suggests that our attempts to "upgrade" ourselves or achieve utopian visions through technology might simply create new, perhaps even more complex, forms of distress because they often stem from these underlying attachments. He posits that even the overcoming of traditional scourges like famine, plague, and war leads to new challenges and anxieties, reflecting a continuous cycle of dissatisfaction.
* Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda):
* Buddhism: This principle states that all phenomena arise in dependence upon causes and conditions. Nothing exists independently. It's a complex chain of interconnectedness.
* Harari: While he doesn't explicitly use the term "dependent origination," his historical narratives and analyses of human systems deeply reflect this idea. He shows how our current reality—our beliefs, social structures, economic systems, and even individual identities—are not accidental but have arisen from specific historical, biological, and cultural conditions. He demonstrates how one development leads to another, creating a complex web of interconnected causes and effects that shape our "conditioned existence."
* The Illusion of Meaning:
* Buddhism: Ultimately, Buddhism asserts that conditioned existence, being impermanent and devoid of inherent self, is ultimately empty of inherent meaning. True liberation comes from seeing things as they are, without imposing fabricated meanings.
* Harari: He argues that the meanings we ascribe to life—whether through religion, nationalism, human rights, or individual pursuits—are largely "delusions" or "imagined orders" that humans have invented to create social cohesion and purpose. In a universe devoid of inherent meaning, any meaning we find is a human construct. This aligns with the Buddhist understanding that conventional reality, while functional, lacks ultimate inherent meaning.
In essence, both Harari and Buddhist philosophy offer a deconstruction of what we often perceive as solid, permanent, and inherently meaningful, revealing the conditioned, impermanent, and interdependent nature of all existence, including the human experience. While Buddhism offers a path to liberation from this conditioned existence through insight and practice, Harari primarily offers an intellectual understanding of its historical and biological underpinnings, often with a more speculative view on how humanity might further shape or be shaped by these conditions in the future.

When we were young, we all had ONE life. Kids now have TWO lives...their real life, and their on-line persona. When those two collide, it can be devastating.

Factor in 24/7/365 communication and the brain never has time to reflect or rest. Social Media also portrays unrealistic/ unobtainable expectations. Moderation is the key...in most all areas of your life.

Beezer said:

When we were young, we all had ONE life. Kids now have TWO lives...their real life, and their on-line persona. When those two collide, it can be devastating.

Factor in 24/7/365 communication and the brain never has time to reflect or rest. Social Media also portrays unrealistic/ unobtainable expectations. Moderation is the key...in most all areas of your life.

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Yes.
I was going to sort of go there. I'm not sure how to explain it.
I've recently watched videos of when the kids were small. Back then it was a big deal to do a video. Everyone aware of being filmed. Shy, or goofing, or best behavior. We spoke differently to the kids when they misbehaved on film. Not like real life.
It was different behavior unless a video was in the room with no-one paying attention.

I see some millennial parents now and they seem to live in the social media world. Always "on". Even when no camera phones are around. In one way it's great. Wonderful parenting with wonderful lively children always with an adventure around every corner. But it doesn't seem genuine. It seems the lines are blurred. They cross between real and social media.

Does anyone else notice this and can you put it into words better than I? I actually first noticed it when we visited Williamsburg. I saw many families like I described.

MarkD said:

What did you do at the U. Wyoming? Pretty interesting to learn more about what everyone did in their working life.

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I worked in Human Resources, official title was 'Data Base Specialist' in 3 person unit with one of them being a supervisor. Basic Duties were entering and updating information on the 5,000 employees state wide, from Administrative to Teaching to Maintenance positions including the short term Work-Study ones. Did verifications of employment, answered questions of the staff that filled out the source info papers on new hires and worked closely with payroll dept.

Everyone in HR got enough training in all the Units (Reception, Classification & Compensation, Hiring, Benefits & Training) that if we answered phones or were helping someone in person we could direct them to correct unit first time around not send them bouncing from one to another as often happens in large companies and institutions. We attended conventions of HR employees from Regional College and University Associations keeping up on trends & laws in the field and sharing how we dealt with various problems.

My Unit also did Beta testing of the PeopleSoft program we used for our DataBase when the program was upgraded. All fixes had to get manually updated by IT dept. But often they missed some and we, the end users had to notify them. This also meant entering everything twice so any glitches would not impact employees getting paid properly.

Also, figured out 'Terminal Leave' settlements-- because the university would pay for unused sick/vacation time, either in a lump sum or as terminal leave-- meaning you stopped coming to work but got paid and stayed on the insurance programs for however long that time lasted. (For me, i was able to stop working on Halloween 2011 and got paid through the end of that year.)

It was interesting, always hectic at beginning of semesters and the only thing remotely boring were some of the weekly staff meetings, tho others involved high drama over ethical issues. Plus the University allowed us our accrued compensatory hours to attend lectures and forums on campus. It was a gorgeous campus with a park like central area, 'Pexy's Pasture' lined with old growth pines several stories tall.

Probably more than you wanted to know, but i enjoyed my 9+ years there. Was proud of having improved my unit's relationship with payroll and the various dept employees that filled out the paperwork needed to get employees in the system and paid. When i started the usual reaction to a call from us was mixed
sad/angry "Oh, no- what did i mess up?" But by consistently opening with something positive and taking an inquisitive instead of accusatory tone a year later not only were communications better but the paperwork was more often complete because they didn't hesitate to call if they were unsure about how do something.