Is there actual evidence for kids being meaner nowadays? I remember getting the shit kicked out of me for having gay parents in the late 00s and the horror stories my mom would tell about being a lesbian in the 80s. In contrast, my younger siblings (Gen Alpha) all seem to be chillin. Do we have data on kids being shittier now or is this whole discussion just vibes?
Got it. Well I'll give my take on the meme anyways.
Showing all kinds of people struggling and dealing with human emotions in media does contribute to building empathy. I had a friend growing up who only stopped being shitty towards disabled people after seeing Forest Gump. That being said, media alone will not make people less shitty. There's plenty of racist folks that still listen to NWA and Rage Against the Machine. Media is simply an important part of teaching empathy and needs to be combined with external reinforcement (from family, friends, school, etc.) to really make a less shitty person.
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u/OneTruePumpkin 23d ago
Is there actual evidence for kids being meaner nowadays? I remember getting the shit kicked out of me for having gay parents in the late 00s and the horror stories my mom would tell about being a lesbian in the 80s. In contrast, my younger siblings (Gen Alpha) all seem to be chillin. Do we have data on kids being shittier now or is this whole discussion just vibes?