Really enjoyed this, thinking on this is a breath of fresh air! Despite my past occasional wanderings to the fringes of society via severe addiction issues, my internet grumblings on “the state of things”, my mistrust of technology and general discontent nature (just another mother grieving “the village”!)-I have immense gratitude for the “internal locus” I have somehow developed and hold onto. It’s a great gift to hold a lot of hope and I truly wish to pass that onto my children.
Jim- This is so useful. I particularly love this point: "The most immediate risk of having a doomer attitude is that it can get in the way of the little steps that actually lead to progress." So true. Something so hard for me as a parent to realize, especially in the early years.
Thanks! And yeah, it's hard for me to remember that everything happens in little steps. I'm writing lines like that as much to force myself to remember that as anything else haha.
"[T]he fact that kids, specifically, are experiencing mental health declines suggests we’re somehow instilling in them a destructive outlook. But how exactly are we doing that? Well, maybe we're doing it on purpose."
This is exactly right, and it is a very, very disturbing fact. That almost no one is willing to forthrightly acknowledge. And the more individually culpable one happens to be, the less likely one is to acknowledge this existentially devastating fact.
Thanks! It does feel like there's an adequate acknowledgement of how adults' decisions impact kids' mental health. idk how to fix that, but I hope it does get acknowledged more
Yep, Haidt’s writing on the internal vs. external locus of control, as it pertains to widespread mental health issues (and doomism) has been super enlightening.
Really enjoyed this, thinking on this is a breath of fresh air! Despite my past occasional wanderings to the fringes of society via severe addiction issues, my internet grumblings on “the state of things”, my mistrust of technology and general discontent nature (just another mother grieving “the village”!)-I have immense gratitude for the “internal locus” I have somehow developed and hold onto. It’s a great gift to hold a lot of hope and I truly wish to pass that onto my children.
Thank you so much! I agree having that internal locus is a gift — such a great way to put it!
Jim- This is so useful. I particularly love this point: "The most immediate risk of having a doomer attitude is that it can get in the way of the little steps that actually lead to progress." So true. Something so hard for me as a parent to realize, especially in the early years.
Thanks! And yeah, it's hard for me to remember that everything happens in little steps. I'm writing lines like that as much to force myself to remember that as anything else haha.
"[T]he fact that kids, specifically, are experiencing mental health declines suggests we’re somehow instilling in them a destructive outlook. But how exactly are we doing that? Well, maybe we're doing it on purpose."
This is exactly right, and it is a very, very disturbing fact. That almost no one is willing to forthrightly acknowledge. And the more individually culpable one happens to be, the less likely one is to acknowledge this existentially devastating fact.
Good article.
Thanks! It does feel like there's an adequate acknowledgement of how adults' decisions impact kids' mental health. idk how to fix that, but I hope it does get acknowledged more
Yep, Haidt’s writing on the internal vs. external locus of control, as it pertains to widespread mental health issues (and doomism) has been super enlightening.
I love me some Haidt!