Raising Strangers

I got to thinking the other day about how different this young adult generation is than when my husband or I was their age.  I feel like when we grew up, we were taught to have our own opinion and to make informed decisions.  I remember hearing my parents tell me “You can’t believe everything you hear on TV”.  The generation that grew up behind us grew up when all the social media and the internet were in the palm of their hands.  This generation grew up when we were all learning the perks and dangers of having the flow of information and opinions at the ready.  This excess flow of information has changed the way not just the generation coming up but many people’s ability to form their own opinion.  I have noticed even in my parents.  The same people who used to tell me not to believe everything at times take what they read on social media as the truth, and it forms their opinion about things.

I know that my kids were growing up when this was all still very new and during their most vulnerable years not only did they have to deal with hormones causing their minds to have self esteem issues and just being teenagers, now they had to deal with how many likes their post received.  I was talking to one of my sons just the other day and he said he quit being friends with people because they never “post” him.  The idea that whether someone talks about you on social media or not can determine whether they like you or not is a wild concept.  I remember two of my kids arguing one day over who got the most likes on their post.  The amount that this kind of interaction molds a child’s thoughts or just a person’s thoughts is mind boggling.  No longer are the days of having your own opinion. 

We are all guilty of this same thing.  Used to when you painted you living room you went to the store and looked at the pain samples and chose the color you liked.  Now it’s hours of scrolling Pinterest to find the style you like best or what’s trending.  Essentially this has changed who is raising our children.  We are no longer the only ones raising our kids but millions of people across the world are helping to mold their thoughts and actions based on what they are absorbing through the tiny devices they can’t seem to put down. 

I personally have also seen an increase in what I like to call snake oil salesmen.  We look back in history and remember the people who were selling all kinds of “remedies”. Today these kinds of sales are all over social media.  Influencers are always trying to sell that magic pill that will make you feel young or take about all your aches and pains.  I have been sent video after video from my kids for everything from helping to lose weight, build muscles, or even make money.  No matter how much my husband and I have taught our children to work hard for the things that they want out of life, they like to believe all the videos and posts they see about making money the easy way.

The question my husband and I find ourselves asking each other is has the world gone to far with the free sharing of information?  Is it too late to change the narrative.  Look at places around the world where the people in charge control what information is fed to people.  Look at how much even us as older adults are influenced by what is feed to us through clever marketing.  Has social media and the internet changed the ability to form our own true opinions?  Are we the only ones raising our kids or are they being raised by what side of social media they happen to land on?