Thank you for publishing this! I am very pleased to hear the general consensus, thank you everybody who took your time to read. I have just started a sub stack of my own and hope to write more soon, please feel free to follow if you want to hear more from an angry "screenager" :)
I believe that a large part of the problem, if not THE problem, is that higher education in the United States is treated as a means to an end. “Do this so that you can get that.” I tell my daughters “whatever it is that you do, do it because it alone is worth doing.”
Although I taught High School Math for 10+ years, I had plenty of opportunity to read student essays. When the students found out I was a reading addict, quite a few of them would ask me to take a look at their writing. Jadon's communication skills are off the charts. If you had told us he was a grad student involved in a creative writing program I would have believed it. I hope we get to read similar letters in the future. Thanks for sharing.
Mannn, as a teacher, there is nothing more amazing that learning one of the kids in your class has this depth of a desire for humanity, to fully live, explore, think, create. In spite of the systemic suppression of this most basic human instinct (alongside the new trouble of technology there have always been a thousand other things that suppress it, social pressure/power, herd instincts, traditional masculinity, fear), I have encountered a surprising number of kids who can articulate a basic level of humanity more skillfully than most of their teachers. I had one student in the ghetto of Chicago who got all Fs and Ds, and had probably never finished a book, but when asked what he really cared about, could critique technology, social conformity, and inhumanity in ways that would impress Thoreau. And he was the coolest kid in the grade!--though none of his friends knew the intellectual side of him. These are kids who often see even the ways their teachers have bought into a system that makes no sense, and thus have nowhere to go with their innate wisdom and curiosity.
I've assigned your State of the Culture 2024 to my AP Lang students (junior English) as well. I think it resonated with some, but others are so foregone that they couldn't make the connection between your argument and their own addiction.
Some of the challenge comes down to generational gaps. I was arguing about the impact of TikTok and phone addiction with my brother. He insisted that it was just like his own generation (X) being addicted to TV or video games. But it really isn't the same. You couldn't lug around some heavy box around to watch TV everywhere you went, and the shows actually required some attention. I was also trying to explain the difference between pop culture and dopamine culture, one that caters to the lazy brain and the other that hijacks the brain.
It fell on deaf ears though. I suspect this is because he wants to believe that giving his kids iPads and letting them roam free online won't harm them. Teaching class after class of screenagers has convinced me that he's wrong. It's a problem, and I think a hard pass on screens in the house is the main way out of this mess.
My experiences interacting with high school students in recent years have greatly impressed me. They are doing so much more independent critical thinking, having discussions, researching issues, then they are given credit for. I wouldn't say that young folk are incapable of action; I've found them eager to act but without supportive guidance or enough knowledge of byzantine systems to get started. It's on adults to provide better assistance and knowledge so they can move on their ideals.
As a freshmen in college, I agree with so much of what he has said in this letter. The fact is, is that there’s a large percentage of us who would absolutely agree, but we’re seemingly utterly helpless when it comes to taking action.
I don’t think that there’s a big difference in thought between high school-aged kids and parents; it’s just the disconnect that, well, leads us astray. Thanks for sharing Ted!
Ted, you're becoming a household name. High school assignments and all. That's a good thing for us, and, I hope, a benefit for you, from whatever direction: monetary, spiritually or otherwise. Obviously you'll receive criticism as well, but that's also a good thing because your truth is unsettling for those who want control and those who refuse to acknowledge that a differing opinion isn't a personal assault. I'm not a sixteen year old (I'm nearly four times his age), but it's a rare occasion when I don't have a mind full to the brim after reading one of your posts.
Hi -- Jadon's teacher here. Just wanted to send gratitude for all who are communicating on this topic: it is a serious one to have. Thus, why I shared it with my students. Ted, Jadon--keep the torch burning. And I promise to do the same.
Jadon implies that there were indeed others in his class who resonated with Ted’s arguments. We can’t reach everyone, nor should we try to do so. Let’s focus on the ones who ‘have ears to hear.’ They are the future.
I recently listened to a podcast on Conversations with Tyler and Jonathan Haidt. It was an excellent interview and well worth the listen. Jonathan tackles these same issues, and one can only hope that an effective backlash against social media is brewing.
3 thoughts immediately come to mind after reading this.
-Thank you to Jadon's teacher for sharing Ted's article.
-Thank you to Jadon for sharing his thoughts. Jadon will do wonders in both STEM and the Humanities.
-Thank you to Ted for taking the time to reply to a fellow human being, albeit a young earthly age, but an old soul. When it comes to the arts and matters of the heart, age doesn't mean a thing. Lovely, uplifting, and full of hope. My fingers are crossed (and the joints now ache) for the pendulum to swing back the other way! Kids will find their way back to wonder in the natural world. In our real and flawed world.
And you are correct Ted. Tech leadership has created a monster with their culture of "move fast and break things" that at the same time generates billions in revenue for themselves and their investors. All the while, our clueless (or greedy? or both?) political leadership lets the tech mayhem continue to harm the citizenry and the kids.
My son is finishing up his last years of college and I am proud he chose to study history and art. We fully support him in that decision. I've been sharing a few choice articles of yours with him (I hope that's OK) so that he can see that there are in fact pathways through adulthood for folks who can think and work outside the STEM.
And kudos to you too Ted. My son rarely reads the articles I send him, but yours he does.
There's only one way to justify charging tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for a college education: to portray it as a financial investment that will pay dividends over a lifetime of working. All of the money flowing into higher ed (including from government subsidies like grants and loans) has distorted the perception of what college is for. Now it's a means to an end, a certificate that (hopefully) allows one entry into a white collar profession and a commensurately greater paycheck.
Take that to its logical conclusion and why would anyone choose a major other than engineering, comp sci, business, pre-law, etc.? It's no paradox that many more Americans attend college now compared to the 1960's and yet programs like humanities are dying.
Even worse is what these perverse incentives are doing to college students. If the goal of college is to go work at a bank there is no point in rebellion or exploration. Instead It's "do your homework, get good grades, punch the clock, keep your head down, don't make trouble." Is it any wonder that the current generation of college students is overwhelmingly conformist and risk averse?
Thank you for publishing this! I am very pleased to hear the general consensus, thank you everybody who took your time to read. I have just started a sub stack of my own and hope to write more soon, please feel free to follow if you want to hear more from an angry "screenager" :)
https://substack.com/@theangryscreenager
Kudos to the teacher that assigned reading Ted’s Substack article!
I believe that a large part of the problem, if not THE problem, is that higher education in the United States is treated as a means to an end. “Do this so that you can get that.” I tell my daughters “whatever it is that you do, do it because it alone is worth doing.”
Although I taught High School Math for 10+ years, I had plenty of opportunity to read student essays. When the students found out I was a reading addict, quite a few of them would ask me to take a look at their writing. Jadon's communication skills are off the charts. If you had told us he was a grad student involved in a creative writing program I would have believed it. I hope we get to read similar letters in the future. Thanks for sharing.
Mannn, as a teacher, there is nothing more amazing that learning one of the kids in your class has this depth of a desire for humanity, to fully live, explore, think, create. In spite of the systemic suppression of this most basic human instinct (alongside the new trouble of technology there have always been a thousand other things that suppress it, social pressure/power, herd instincts, traditional masculinity, fear), I have encountered a surprising number of kids who can articulate a basic level of humanity more skillfully than most of their teachers. I had one student in the ghetto of Chicago who got all Fs and Ds, and had probably never finished a book, but when asked what he really cared about, could critique technology, social conformity, and inhumanity in ways that would impress Thoreau. And he was the coolest kid in the grade!--though none of his friends knew the intellectual side of him. These are kids who often see even the ways their teachers have bought into a system that makes no sense, and thus have nowhere to go with their innate wisdom and curiosity.
I've assigned your State of the Culture 2024 to my AP Lang students (junior English) as well. I think it resonated with some, but others are so foregone that they couldn't make the connection between your argument and their own addiction.
Some of the challenge comes down to generational gaps. I was arguing about the impact of TikTok and phone addiction with my brother. He insisted that it was just like his own generation (X) being addicted to TV or video games. But it really isn't the same. You couldn't lug around some heavy box around to watch TV everywhere you went, and the shows actually required some attention. I was also trying to explain the difference between pop culture and dopamine culture, one that caters to the lazy brain and the other that hijacks the brain.
It fell on deaf ears though. I suspect this is because he wants to believe that giving his kids iPads and letting them roam free online won't harm them. Teaching class after class of screenagers has convinced me that he's wrong. It's a problem, and I think a hard pass on screens in the house is the main way out of this mess.
My experiences interacting with high school students in recent years have greatly impressed me. They are doing so much more independent critical thinking, having discussions, researching issues, then they are given credit for. I wouldn't say that young folk are incapable of action; I've found them eager to act but without supportive guidance or enough knowledge of byzantine systems to get started. It's on adults to provide better assistance and knowledge so they can move on their ideals.
As a freshmen in college, I agree with so much of what he has said in this letter. The fact is, is that there’s a large percentage of us who would absolutely agree, but we’re seemingly utterly helpless when it comes to taking action.
I don’t think that there’s a big difference in thought between high school-aged kids and parents; it’s just the disconnect that, well, leads us astray. Thanks for sharing Ted!
Ted, you're becoming a household name. High school assignments and all. That's a good thing for us, and, I hope, a benefit for you, from whatever direction: monetary, spiritually or otherwise. Obviously you'll receive criticism as well, but that's also a good thing because your truth is unsettling for those who want control and those who refuse to acknowledge that a differing opinion isn't a personal assault. I'm not a sixteen year old (I'm nearly four times his age), but it's a rare occasion when I don't have a mind full to the brim after reading one of your posts.
As always, thanks for sharing.
Hi -- Jadon's teacher here. Just wanted to send gratitude for all who are communicating on this topic: it is a serious one to have. Thus, why I shared it with my students. Ted, Jadon--keep the torch burning. And I promise to do the same.
Jadon implies that there were indeed others in his class who resonated with Ted’s arguments. We can’t reach everyone, nor should we try to do so. Let’s focus on the ones who ‘have ears to hear.’ They are the future.
I recently listened to a podcast on Conversations with Tyler and Jonathan Haidt. It was an excellent interview and well worth the listen. Jonathan tackles these same issues, and one can only hope that an effective backlash against social media is brewing.
3 thoughts immediately come to mind after reading this.
-Thank you to Jadon's teacher for sharing Ted's article.
-Thank you to Jadon for sharing his thoughts. Jadon will do wonders in both STEM and the Humanities.
-Thank you to Ted for taking the time to reply to a fellow human being, albeit a young earthly age, but an old soul. When it comes to the arts and matters of the heart, age doesn't mean a thing. Lovely, uplifting, and full of hope. My fingers are crossed (and the joints now ache) for the pendulum to swing back the other way! Kids will find their way back to wonder in the natural world. In our real and flawed world.
Respectfully,
Kate
Great insights from Jadon. Kudos my man.
And you are correct Ted. Tech leadership has created a monster with their culture of "move fast and break things" that at the same time generates billions in revenue for themselves and their investors. All the while, our clueless (or greedy? or both?) political leadership lets the tech mayhem continue to harm the citizenry and the kids.
My son is finishing up his last years of college and I am proud he chose to study history and art. We fully support him in that decision. I've been sharing a few choice articles of yours with him (I hope that's OK) so that he can see that there are in fact pathways through adulthood for folks who can think and work outside the STEM.
And kudos to you too Ted. My son rarely reads the articles I send him, but yours he does.
Jadon, what insight! High-school student, undergrad, academic or global managing director, whatever your ‘label’ Jadon, it’s a great read
There's only one way to justify charging tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for a college education: to portray it as a financial investment that will pay dividends over a lifetime of working. All of the money flowing into higher ed (including from government subsidies like grants and loans) has distorted the perception of what college is for. Now it's a means to an end, a certificate that (hopefully) allows one entry into a white collar profession and a commensurately greater paycheck.
Take that to its logical conclusion and why would anyone choose a major other than engineering, comp sci, business, pre-law, etc.? It's no paradox that many more Americans attend college now compared to the 1960's and yet programs like humanities are dying.
Even worse is what these perverse incentives are doing to college students. If the goal of college is to go work at a bank there is no point in rebellion or exploration. Instead It's "do your homework, get good grades, punch the clock, keep your head down, don't make trouble." Is it any wonder that the current generation of college students is overwhelmingly conformist and risk averse?