Not wanting to derail the Southgate thread, though cracking piece from him yesterday on the news... RTB said: ↑ Well said Gareth Southgate Excellent speech on the BBC Richard Dimbleby lecture I agree, we need to be discussing media influencers impact on our young lads. I've just watched episode 1 of Adolescence with Stephen Graham... frightening when you've a 16 year old son on his mobile phone a lot...
I watched the first 20 minutes of his lecture last night. Brilliant stuff. Will watch the rest later.
I have my own thoughts on influencers although I’m also old enough to know that they have no impact on my day to day life. It’s the current generation that suffers though.
I'm a step father to 2 teenage boys the older one doesn't worry me one jot because a lot of his screen time is creative. He 'codes' and it's a great outlet for him. The youngest worries the life out of me. All he does is spend time acting the goat in chat lobbies. His whole life is spent performing to and audience of prats on his phone and his 'lobby chat' has started bleeding into how he speaks to his mother. His hero is Jake Paul. I tried to show him real boxers and MMA fighters and he had no interest as they had no followers in comparison to Jake Paul.
Just bookmarked that after watching the first few minutes. What I cannot underis how my daughter has to take either history or geography, but doesn’t have to take any computer lesson in her options! She was born in 2010!! Computing should be a requirement and, imo, is as (possibly,more) important than English and Maths now! Yet it is not a requirement at school for options??
The two words in the OP are horrific … … ‘influence and young’. Children just don’t have the time to be children any more. When influencers are clearly a bad influence it must be a nightmare for parents these days.
Me and the wife just found out second is to be a boy. Couldn't be more ****ing pleased that we just signed the contract to purchase a 10 acre farm up in the foothills of the Australian Alps where the air is clean and the trees grow tall and the internet signal is ****ing ****e.
Wanted a girl to be honest just for the little one to have a sister but as long as they are healthy, it doesn't matter too much. The farm is ****ing terrifying. It's filled with garlic plants and tiger snakes. So that's good.
There's a young lad work with who doesn't drink as he fully believes it turns you instantly into a twat, doesn't like people in general, doesn't try new things (even basic food options), plays online games mainly and hasn't actually met about 90% of his friends who are all online gamers. Half of his mates have anxiety issues so are unable to work, therefore they receive benefits for netflix and gaming subscriptions etc. He's also very easily influenced by streamers and the likes of Farage. It's terrifying and can see why the government want to reduce the overall benefit cost (apologies for slipping into politics there, it's not the thread for it). I've worked for 29 years in IT now and the lack of basic social skills in the youngest generation, especially in this field, is incredible. I really don't know how they function.
Indeed! Maths and English when I was at school. You would think computing in some capacity would be added to that now, but no, you have to learn where Libya is or who Mao Tse Tung was! They’re obviously far more important!
I’d like a similar amount of concern for young girls social media has a lot to answer for on both sides of the spectrum, regardless of whether it’s potentially a violence outcome or entrenched development of narcissism. social media scares me, a generation now who when they get wherever in the world, be it butlins or the Maldives, their first thought for the most part is to get their fella to snap an ass pic that immediately gets shared on the internet. complete oddball behaviour
Heard a story recently about a young lad talking to a lass saying his mate wanted to shag her... her reply... Get him to send me a dick pic.
These things, in isolation, are pretty harmless … … it’s their relentlessness that gradually wears away at the social fabric. People with very little intelligence, decorum or self respect are influencing children and, sadly, other adults. When the most highly paid people on TV are doing very little but talking you know there’s something amiss.
The group most likely to be groomed online for sex are 10-13 year old girls. It's terrifying. People like to blame the influencers and content creators etc, but it's the parents who blithely allow their kids unrestricted access to the internet with no education about it. It's easier to just say yes, go and watch whatever **** you like rather than establish some boundaries and limits
Slightly off topic but my 12 year old daughter kicked off with me on Thursday as I wouldn't let her go out walking on her own in the evening. She wanted to go up on Werneth Low which is on our doorstep but a countryside walk. Please say I'm right. (I offered to go with her after I finished work but was rejected)
I don’t know the area tbh so wouldn’t know if it was safe or not. I guess you know your daughter though and what’s best for her. Thing is the vast majority of us thought we were invincible and knew everything at that age. We didn’t and we only found that out as we got older. But we also didn’t have the internet to bombard us with information 24 hours a day.
