Children, doom, and "mean world syndrome"

Kids and teenagers really do worry about the big issues, not just grades and divorce. And a new study shows that big issues and ruminating on doom can have a big effect on kids.

"...And what are your worries outside of this town?” I asked. “What concerns you about the world?”

The kids are in non-stop mode now and I’m running out of space just trying to jot down their concerns:

“Iraq.” “Iran.” “Global warming.” “Terrorism.” “Violence.” “Prejudice.” “Sexual predators.” “Recession.” “Getting a job.” “Our future.”

Their “worry list” goes on and on. Then one boy stops us all with his question:

“Do you think we’ll ever live to see the future?,” he asks quietly. “I worry about that a lot. I don’t think our generation will.”

The look on every teen’s face says it all. Each has the same concern.

We think kids don’t think about such “big” worries. Wrong. Those teens are no different than the hundreds of other teen focus groups in this country. And here’s proof.

A survey conducted by MTV and The Associated Press of over 1300 teens nationwide found that only 25 percent feel safe from terrorism or traveling.

The vast majority of teens admitted that their world is far more difficult than the world their mom or dad grew up in.

Just consider a child growing up today vs. yesterday. In 1950s a survey found that our children’s biggest fears were loud noises, snakes, insects, and a parent’s death.

Fast forward fifty years later. The most pressing kid stressor today is still a parent’s death, but “violence” has now replaced loud noises and snakes.

But the biggest fear many teens report today: “I’ll never live to see the future.”

It hurts just to hear their top concern.

More at source: Michele Borba's blog

Because of all this doom and gloom that children and teens are picking up, says the article, they develop "mean world syndrome," which causes them to see the world as a cold and dark place, damaging optimisim and effecting their personality for life.

The article goes on to give some advice to parents, which includes limiting and monitoring news intake, being emotionally present for your kids, and teaching simple anxiety-combatting techniques.

What do you think, ATS? Most of us are "doomers" of one sort or another and carry a preoccupation with morbid news, disaster...in another word, "doom." If you have kids, how upfront are you with them about your own doomy-ness? I'd also be interested in people's own experience as kids or adolescents coming to grips with doom.

Originally posted by Partygirl
Because of all this doom and gloom that children and teens are picking up, says the article, they develop "mean world syndrome," which causes them to see the world as a cold and dark place, damaging optimisim and effecting their personality for life.

So teenagers are now starting to get an education on reality.

I hate to be a cynic, but life generally is a cold, dark and pessimistic place, with occasional shots of idealism and wishful thinking providing long-term coping mechanisms in our ephemeral existences.

The amount of information which we have at our fingertips is, no doubt, responsible for more and more nihilistic, unsatisfying realisations from teenagers.

I think that all of these issues existed even back in the day. It doesn't matter how far you go back. These social problems have always existed. The world is not a Utopia. This is not a paradise. I wonder how children viewed their lives during the Dark Ages when plague and famine was a very real concern. In fact, in third world countries - there are still children who face these social injustices. Despite this there numbers still persevere.

I suppose I may be being a little hard on our teenagers. However, they are going to need to be prepared for the realities of the world. They also need to know that there are people in the world that have it a lot worse off. So MTV can take their study, shove it where the sun don't shine, and go fly a kite. Anything having to do with Hollywood is hypocritical garbage anyways. They are part of the problem, not the solution. Darn, 1% ers.

Originally posted by Partygirl

Kids and teenagers really do worry about the big issues, not just grades and divorce. And a new study shows that big issues and ruminating on doom can have a big effect on kids.

"...And what are your worries outside of this town?” I asked. “What concerns you about the world?”

The kids are in non-stop mode now and I’m running out of space just trying to jot down their concerns:

“Iraq.” “Iran.” “Global warming.” “Terrorism.” “Violence.” “Prejudice.” “Sexual predators.” “Recession.” “Getting a job.” “Our future.”

Their “worry list” goes on and on. Then one boy stops us all with his question:

“Do you think we’ll ever live to see the future?,” he asks quietly. “I worry about that a lot. I don’t think our generation will.”

The look on every teen’s face says it all. Each has the same concern.

We think kids don’t think about such “big” worries. Wrong. Those teens are no different than the hundreds of other teen focus groups in this country. And here’s proof.

The veil is coming down, is what it is. These are children who are starting to have memory of their reincarnational past, even though not all of them will say that to you, as such. So they have much more mature concerns that what you'd expect, simply by looking that their age in physical terms. In reality, they're much, much older. Most people born prior to 1990 don't have that; at least not to the same degree. It is usually a condition that if you are born within this planet's atmosphere, you come in veiled. Amnesiac.

I will never forget one video of a three year old girl going through a patdown with the TSA. She was screaming at the person doing it, "PLEASE stop touching me!" That was honestly terrifying, and the reason why is because a three year old child DOES. NOT. KNOW. THAT. A three year old is not meant to have any comprehension of sexuality whatsoever, inappropriate or otherwise.

Things are about to get a lot more interesting.

Originally posted by CirqueDeTruth
I think that all of these issues existed even back in the day.

No, they didn't. No generation from before 1950, has had to deal with the genuine prospect of our extinction.

I'm glad these kids appreciate the reality of just how truly and completely f$%^ed they really are. Maybe they'll be more inclined to try and do something about it than we have.

We are the gutted generations that have witnessed the breakdown of society
From the ease of divorce and the degeneration of the domestic environment
Combined with the unpressidented acces to information we have
I as a teen saw the world for it was
Someone's posted the 1950's
I agree but maybe as late as the 60's / 70's
And the Internet changed everything

Originally posted by petrus4
No generation from before 1950, has had to deal with the genuine prospect of our extinction.

Nonsense.

The threat of extinction is one of the main evolutionary factors which has driven us for million of years.

There is absolutely no post-1950 doom-laden prediction which makes us any more likely to become extinct than before.

Fear has always been a way used to control people be it old or young.
It has always been so - from ancient worlds to our present day one
It is as though the hidden hand of power wants us all to feel helpless and distressed
Well it does not work on me or a gathering army of like minded people
I recently went to London - People on the tube never chat to each other - everyone is in their own bubble and suspicious of others - It is so funny well not funny really - But I purposefully make idle chatter with folk - At first they seem a little surprised that some one is actually talking to them but more than often people love to chat banter and laugh - This is who we are.
It grieves me sorely to think young people feel so down - you deserve better than that - we all do
Where I live is a smallish community - everyone seems to chat about this and that and nothing at all
People inside want to be friendly only fear stops us.
Yes the world is crazy because it is run by psychopaths and greed and selfishness are gods.
I say see through the game and refuse to play by their unspoken rule of divide and conquer and fear and suspicion
Sorry to ramble on like an old fart but it really gets to me to see others hurting - I clearly remember being a child and I am still that child inside who looks at the beauty in the world if we just let it be

reply to post by petrus4


Hi Petrus

Nit-picking are we? There has always been strife, hardship, and sorrow in this world, despite what era you lived in. People from history may not have all the same exact problems, but each generation has seen their share of "doom and gloom". I thought that this would go without saying, but I see that I was wrong. I understand the need to jump on the first thing you can find and contradict it. Some people find joy in it. I'm guilty of it at times to.

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


Very good point
But I doubt they knew of as many potential threats as we do
We still have the same worries as older civilisations but now we have plenty more and the means to let each other know about them
Do you think the Romans were worried about cme's or pole reversals
Nuclear war, or global warming
We can but speculate I suppose

Originally posted by Sherlock Holmes

Originally posted by petrus4
No generation from before 1950, has had to deal with the genuine prospect of our extinction.

Nonsense.

The threat of extinction is one of the main evolutionary factors which has driven us for million of years.

There is absolutely no post-1950 doom-laden prediction which makes us any more likely to become extinct than before.

Really. So we've had nuclear weaponry, AIDS, a population of close to seven billion, genetically engineered food, an average extinction level within most ecological zones of around 70%, and the ebola virus for our entire history, have we?

Originally posted by Neocrusader
But I doubt they knew of as many potential threats as we do

Swings and roundabouts, though.

Yes, we are more aware of real and potent threats in the future, but they had to contend with threats from demons, devils, unpropitious gods, etc., which punctuated their grasp of reality.

Originally posted by Neocrusader
We still have the same worries as older civilisations but now we have plenty more and the means to let each other know about them

Death, disease and pointlessness are realities which have spanned millions of years of human existence.

The environmental scenario may be different than thousands of years ago, but the same realities and abstract thoughts trouble us in exactly the same way.

Whenever these topics come up, we usually have one group that says "things never change" and another that says, "it really is different this time." in a broad sense, I agree that many things cycle and repeat in each generation, but actually it *is* valid to point out differences in different times. There is a real difference between the generations that built Rome and those that presided over her decline and fall, for example. This becomes aparant over the sweep of history, and it is reflected in culture and social patterns.

I think the rising generation now faces a particularly difficult set of hard choices and as they age this will make some and break others. I'll be dead by the time things get really hairy, I'd guess, but that's probably not true for our youngest members, who have my sympathy.

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


Ok

But many still believe in demons and the wrath of god

And I reiterate
The means of spreading information
100 years ago you had an earth quake, pandemic, hell anything
No one knew or cared the other side of the world.
Yeah it might make news but meh its over there
Now we see a bigger picture
And not just what happens local
And have an understanding of that picture
Thanks to ...........the Internet

A scared, fearful, moralless and Godless youth are the revolutionaries of tomorrow - they are indoctrinated to accept the "new world order" of Satan because they desperately desire to hear the words "peace and safety".
And that "shining one" is already promising many of them just that.

His motto is out of chaos comes order... Not out of order comes order.

They have no shield of faith, no grounding of God's Truth and no moral standing to assist them in what's coming. They will accept anyone promising them what they dream, never understanding that it's an empty promise.

.

Originally posted by petrus4
Really. So we've had nuclear weaponry

No-one I know of is remotely concerned about any kind of nuclear war.

I grew up in the late 1980s and early 1990s - just before and after the last throes of the Cold War - and nobody I knew was bothered by such a concept.

Some dude can't just press a red button to create widespread destruction and desolation.

Originally posted by petrus4
AIDS

LOL !

Diseases have been rife throughout the evolution of humans. Do you really think that a contagious disease like AIDS is more of a threat to humanity than the thousands upon thousands of other virulent diseases which have occurred during the last few million years ?!

Originally posted by petrus4a population of close to seven billion, genetically engineered food, an average extinction level within most ecological zones of around 70%, and the ebola virus for our entire history, have we?

What's wrong with a population of 7 billion ?

Some species' population numbers are in the region of the hundreds of billions.

Genetically engineered food ? I don't know where you're from, but I choose to not eat any ''tweeked'' food. Still, it's your personal choice.

The bubonic plague decimated northern Europe several hundred years ago, so I fail to see how the Ebola virus could be any worse than that.

Originally posted by WhoKnows100
A scared, fearful, moralless and Godless youth are the revolutionaries of tomorrow - they are indoctrinated to accept the "new world order" of Satan because they desperately desire to hear the words "peace and safety".
And that "shining one" is already promising many of them just that.

Maybe. Or maybe they just like the idea of getting to live past their 30th birthday.

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes

What he said.Better chance of surviving if you know the dangers of the jungle.There's no point in trying to hide the truth about the world from kids,the dangers,pittfalls,risks and obstacles.To sugarcoat the true state of matters,would be doing our children a grave disservice.I do think there should be a "time of grace" for the very young kids to just have fun and enjoy life,to be innocent and carefree,but from early teens,young people have to start waking up,lest they fall into the sheeple trap.The world is more dangerous now,and though life has always been hard,it may get immeasurably harder depending on what events will occur.You dont have to get your kids to wallow through every single grim news item and murder report or apocalyptic prediction,but you should not try and fabricate a false sense of security for them either.Balance is the key-there is still beauty and goodness and decency in the world,and no conclusive proof that all is lost,for all mankind.But there may be a rough ride ahead,and we are living in crazy, hard and dangerous times as it is.The sooner teenagers get used to this,the better for them,i think.

reply to post by Neocrusader


Mankind has watched weather patterns for a very long time. In fact, there was a period in Europe's history about 1,000 years or so (give or take a few centuries) where they suffered what they called the "small ice age". During this time it became very cold, the frost wiped out most crops, and famine and disease were very real threats. Add this on top of the bubonic plague, less than adequate medical care (much less than what we got today and suppressed by the church as alchemy and witchcraft), the holy war, and an oppressive religious system screaming at you that the end is near because revelations told them so and if you don't believe as told, they were going to hell and be hung for heresy. So I'd say, they had their own set of problems with their share of doom and gloom. We called that particular time in history the Dark Age for a reason - you know.

Even those who did have food to eat often still suffered from malnourishment, as their main diet was bread and ale (you couldn't drink the water until it was made into an ale). More often than not, people did not get adequate vitamins and minerals in their diet. This is what led to early death, along with disease, unsanitary living condition and health care in many working classes during the past. However, if you look back into history, you will notice those well-bred aristocrats that lived during that time, lived to be in their 60's and 70's. This is because they could afford the correct diet and what medical care was available in the day. Many of the same problems that exist then still exist today.

I agree that we have different problems today, but they are no less trying or more of a hardship than past generations who have lived on earth. All of the problems with our world today that were listed off - doesn't look so bad I imagine while your playing your favorite video or computer game, watching endless amounts of TV, taking time out on the basketball court shooting some hoops, at the gym staying in shape, at the book store buying a new book, or paying attention in class to the instructor. Oh yes, our children are so bad off...

Originally posted by Raxoxane
But there may be a rough ride ahead,and we are living in crazy, hard and dangerous times as it is.The sooner teenagers get used to this,the better for them,i think.

I sometimes think that Soylent Green is probably a film that they should be showing teenagers more often at high schools, these days.