Are Kids Really That Enlightened?

[QCzar]

I have been noticing in recent years a trend in this and other western countries towards the conferring a sort of special nobility or heightened social awareness on children and teenagers with regards to the war, the environment and social issues. The implication is that, while adults stumble around or sit on their hands, the kids "get it", but are simply powerless to do anything about it.

But, honest to god, I have never, ever met one of these enlightened children or teenagers. While I know they exist, I'm willing to bet that they represent no greater a proportion of the population than their adult counterparts. Maybe even less so, considering how self-absorbed children and teens are (not an attack, it's just their nature). Most of the ones I know are no more environmentally or socially responsible than anyone else, and when it comes to naked ideology, many simply parrot their parents beliefs.

So I wonder then, where did this notion that the little runts are somehow "tuned in" come from? Is it just more of the same, and only seems more prevalent because it's packaged in new media? Is it guilt from adults over how they've managed these issues?

Most importantly, do any of you know any of these enlightened, activist kids who are saving the world?

 

[Freakness]

probably a part of the current anti-intellectualism fad going on in the West.

 

[Azlynn]

Just one of the many (very optional) service projects undertaken this Christmas by my high school students was to raise money to build chicken coops and stock them in villages to provide an income source... they raised more than their goal (able to build multiple coops, stock them all, AND provide feed) by selling cards that they made themselves. This was all their own researched idea, and enacted entirely by them. Kids.

This was on top of the fair trade market that they've organized for the last two years that targets several countries, and includes products aimed at getting women out of prostitution. Kids.

Another group within the school ran a food drive that collected a truck load of food and over $1000 for the local food bank. Kids.

These were just their Christmas fundraising projects. Another group raised awareness on chocolate production methods. Others have ongoing recycling projects. There are also other fundraisers for the food bank and other organizations (no, not buy themselves new shoes or whatever).

On the last day of school before the break, a kid that I've known for years started talking about how great it was that Obama was elected, and that she wanted to see change in Canada's policy towards the war in Afghanistan... I would never have expected those comments from her, and it's not coming from the parents.

I think they're more aware, and more able to take action because of the internet. It's easy to get news, do research, and find out what they want to know.

Of course, these kids aren't the majority, but I feel a lot better knowing they're around.

 

[jkladis]

Split.

For every exceptionally gifted or dedicate pupil, the opposite can be found in some sheltered existence that could barely spell their own name. Not that it's much different than past ages. Just gets a different sort of attention.

 

[QCzar]

I think they're more aware, and more able to take action because of the internet. It's easy to get news, do research, and find out what they want to know.

Of course, these kids aren't the majority, but I feel a lot better knowing they're around.

Don't get me wrong, I am more than impressed with kids who do these things and think that it can be inspiring (I hope I didn't give you the opposite impression). My point is that the ratio may not justify the notion that, on the whole, they're more inspired and noble than grown-ups.

Don't you, Azlynn, know or know of many adults who do equally inspiring things? Do you believe that kids are more enlightened than adults?

BTW, not to minimize what the kids do, but most of the people using new media and technology to "change the world" are adults.

 

[Azlynn]

I don't know... I think in some ways it's easier for them - many of the adults I know either don't have the time or don't take the time to contribute. I think you would see that more retired people contribute than those of working age, or those who aren't working fulltime. I know amongst my friends, most of us don't do anything.

 

[shapeshifter]

They just fake it.

 

[Mr Awe]

I have been noticing in recent years a trend in this and other western countries towards the conferring a sort of special nobility or heightened social awareness on children and teenagers with regards to the war, the environment and social issues. The implication is that, while adults stumble around or sit on their hands, the kids "get it", but are simply powerless to do anything about it.

Interesting. I don't see that at all. What gives you this impression?

The only thing I pick up, and I'm a father of a soon to be 4 year old, is that nowadays there is a higher acceptance that kids can learn more than previously expected. My daughter is learning about planets, reading, and lots of other things that I didn't know at her age in her preschool. That doesn't make her enlightened, she just knows more facts. I think teens are still perceived as being as troubled and angsty as ever.

So, no, I don't think so.

Mr Awe

 

[Ohappydagger]

Maybe sometimes when people reach adulthood and have to fend for themselves it gives them a different perspective about the amount of effort that they, personally, should put into working for a greater cause and for other people. Your average 14-year-old, say, does not work for his survival, he is fed, sheltered, and clothed by his family so he can put his time and energy into his education and preparation for self-sufficiency. He has the emotional and mental resources to turn natural empathy into an actual effort at improving the world and helping others. Once he reaches 18 or 21 or 23 or whenever he becomes self-sufficient, he's faced with surviving on his own and protecting his own person. He might start to wonder how much of his own resources he really owes the rest of the world when he has to earn it all himself, or why he should help others at all when he's had to work to get what he has as an adult. Some people retain the sense of community and can share, and others say fuck it, I worked for all this and you should too. I guess there are a lot of factors involved.

 

[TheChronicOne]

Kids just aren't old enough yet to realize that that can't really do anything to change the corrupt planet we live on.

 

[JNG]

But, honest to god, I have never, ever met one of these enlightened children or teenagers. While I know they exist, I'm willing to bet that they represent no greater a proportion of the population than their adult counterparts. Maybe even less so, considering how self-absorbed children and teens are (not an attack, it's just their nature). Most of the ones I know are no more environmentally or socially responsible than anyone else, and when it comes to naked ideology, many simply parrot their parents beliefs.

You're perfectly on target here, and I think the sense you're getting from the media does not represent a genuine belief in the "enlightenment" of these young people so much as it does a particular kind of marketing targeted at them. The companies can't very well send out a message like, "Hey, you're seventeen and no one gives a crap what you think about politics, but hang out on MySpace and blather into the ether about it anyway so we get advertising revenue!"

 

[RJDiogenes]

It is indeed part of the anti-intellectualism of society. But it's not a fad; more of a constant. I mean, people love books like Everything I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. In fact, it's even worse than that; I've often heard people express envy of pets and other animals because they don't have to think.

It's related to the idea that primitive civilizations were more enlightened than we are, or that they possessed something that we have "forgotten" or "lost touch" with. Whether it's radical environmentalists praising the low technology level of American Indians or fundamentalist Christians trying to enforce the customs of the ancient Middle East, everybody seems to think less is more and simpler is better.

 

[Ward Fowler]

I think younger people are more easily taken in by government, religious groups, environmentalists, or anyone else with a cause due to their inexperience and lack of a knowledge base, at least compared to most adults. These organizations seek to manipulate these young people for their own gain. That's why the "wisdom" of youth is often talked about. The only problem is, I was young once and I know better. I guess that's the advantage of experience.

 

[WillsBabe]

It's related to the idea that primitive civilizations were more enlightened than we are, or that they possessed something that we have "forgotten" or "lost touch" with.

This was my thought, too. The idea of the Noble Savage. It's not just our society that's been taken in by it. The eighteenth century had their cult of Primitivism, and it goes back further than that.

 

[Mr Awe]

I think you can take several angles in this thread to explain any possible perception of kids being "enlightened."

1) It's common knowledge that kids can learn more facts than realized before. For instance, my preschooler is learning what I learned in elementary school. It's greater knowledge but not necessarily greater enlightenment.

2) The marketing angle which was brought up by a couple of others in this thread. Yes, there will always be the appeal to the "wisdom" of kids to sell products, services, and religions. "You're smart, so make the wise choice and choose us!" You've got to separate the marketing ploy aimed at the kids from the true public perception of the kids.

3) The substantially above average enlightened kids will stand out and be presented in the media. These extraordinary kids have always existed though. So, this is not new. There's also the substantially below average enlightened kids (in prisons or what not) that have always existed as well. Apparently, you hear more about the one and not the other for whatever reason.

Mr Awe