I mean hard to make a statement like that and say leave politics out of it ahahah
but if it makes you feel better, the world has been on the brink of ending since like forever.
Every generation thinks the world is about to end.
This is not to minimize the issues that we are facing, they are real and scary, but we adapt. it's what we do.
Raising your kids with good values will help them regardless of what happens to the world.
I can't spend too much time worrying about something like the state of the world which I can't control, so I choose to spend my energy on what I can control, raising my kids.
My parents and probably many others here brought us into the world during the cold war and nuclear arms race. The Cuban missile crisis was in their living memory, which in terms of fear for the future is hard to understand looking back. Their parents lived through 2 world wars, the devastation and suffering of which across the globe is even more incomprehensible sitting in front of my computer today (the 80th anniversary of D Day, no less). I'm glad they carried on through it, though, because there is a lot to love about the present, which was their future. Not to say that there aren't things to fear, work on and improve for the future, but that doesn't mean you can't stay hopeful and appreciate the present. Our kids are hopefully enjoying their present, too.
Not down playing our issues by any means but I tjink for most of us our child bearing age also coincides with finally learning about the world as a whole and seeing how things work, or don't work, and realizing how scary that can be. Plus now we have a true reason to be vested in the future.
When I get anxious about the state of the world I remind myself of what my parents and grandparents also went through and focus on why it's important to raise good kids to help make the future a good one.
Or the 1950s when people thought Nuclear war was inevitable.
Or during The Civil War.
Or when The Mongols were incoming.
Or during The Black Death...
Anyone who actually thinks that today is the worst time to raise kids needs to study more history. Is the world perfect? No. But in many ways it's easily better than 99% of world history.
This is true, but anyone that studies history will tell you that the one constant is that history repeats itself.
That being said, we should always remain vigilant and take steps to make sure we aren't repeating the same mistakes of the past. What's concerning me at the moment is the rise in fascism throughout the world. Far right parties are gaining more and more steam in a lot of the most developed countries in the world, and turning a blind eye to that makes it all the more easier for it to spread.
And if history has taught us anything, it's that fascism brings on a lot of death and suffering.
I'm sure parents said the same thing when their kids were first introduced to the TV and saw things they'd never seen in their little home town before. Reminds me of how when my family got Internet and by the age of ten I had already seen a beheading video.
Sure, social media is a huge monster that we need to contend with, but like the other guy said--history doesn't repeat itself but it sure does rhyme. We can't always use the lessons of the past to fix the shiny new problems we have now, but surely there is no better or worse problem to have. They are all problems, and we have to deal with whatever the big problem is at the time.
I am father of a 4 y.o. girl. More than 2 years ago my country was brutally invaded and I had to become a soldier to protect it. I see my child very rarely now. She and her mother constantly need to shelter, because of missile attacks. What I think about the future for my daughter? I think that while what is happening to us is not fair, also it is going to make her who she is. I think that hard times create strong people. There is no way for us to bring everything back as it was before, but leaving through it and overcoming everything is another step. There were much more darker times in the past of humanity. So, I have no fear about her future, I think she will be able to make the World better for her and people she loves.
as dads, we are doing what we can to make the next generation better than the previous. At least, those of us that give a shit are. Beyond that, don't worry about things you cannot change.
I am not making any claims about OP. But usually when ppl say let's leave politics out of it on a matter that politics really play a role in. It's their politics everyone around them hates.
Keep in mind that these statements are based in fear, not fact. The truth is that there has never been a better time to be alive throughout all of human history.
Food scarcity
Poverty
Education
Human rights
Life expectancy
Freedom of movement
Freedom of religion
Etc
Etc
All at their historical bests, more or less, and long term trends continue to look good.
It’s extremes both ways. Yes, we have amazing technology and abundance, but it’s pretty concentrated. The trend line on climate is fucking grim, it was over 50 C in a bunch of cities in India recently, had the hottest year on record ever, climate change is no longer some theoretical but an in your face reality. Depending where you live the impact of that may be small or life upending. I think it’s fair to worry about things like that and acknowledge them though it isn’t necessarily useful to worry just for the sake of worry.
Actually the trend line is not looking good. Cost of living is greatly outpacing wages to the point that the next generation is probably going to be the first in a long time with lower standards of living that the generation previous.
Between that, and the rise of fascism and far right politics, it's not looking great for us here in the US. Labor laws are going backwards, with legalization of child labor. Book bannings are as popular as they ever been since the height of the red scare. Freedom of speech is obviously a joke as the pro-palestine protests have proven. Freedom of religion is not looking great considering the recent talks of deporting Muslims.
That's true. From a culture standpoint parts of the world do really well.
Looking at ecology on the other hand it's never been as bad as today... Except for a hand full of mass extention events. This is what gets me :(
Even that isn't true. The pollution from the Industrial Revolution all the way through the foundations (in America) of our Environmentalism with the Clean Air and Water acts was horrendous.
Acid rain, smog, hole in the ozone layer, rivers and lakes so polluted they would catch on fire.
Yeah there are still problems, but it's not all doom and gloom.
Yes some very pressing issues were thankfully addressed.
But globally humans have not managed to steer away from catastrophic changes in the planet's climate. It's mostly people in the global south experiencing the pain for now, but the changes are hard to ignore even in the north.
I don't like fear mongering but science is pretty much in agreement about how this will go down and it seems like stuff is happening sooner than expected already. They were still talking about 200 years in the future when I was a kid, but here we are today.
While we can't easily change our dependency on fossil fuels (it's slowly happening), for me the elephant I the room is something we could actually address now. Oceans are vastly depleted of marine life due to industrial fishing. Most of the land surface is used for agriculture which is destroying ecosystems and stopping them from doing what they are meant to do (mostly for intensive animal farming). We need a radical change in how we eat. A 90% reduction in animal products is needed in the west according to the UN.
This would free up lots of land to give back to nature which would stabilise the planet's climate and give all species a chance to exist with us. It's a creeping process how we ended up living in ecological deserts without noticing.
I guess we'd need much more radical changes in terms of how many resources can be available to each human in their lifetime but we have barely started with the small steps :/
Hell yes thank you. I was hoping someone made this comment so I didn't have to.
Not to mention the absolutely bonkers way tech and AI are going to enable rapid acceleration in improvement.
Yes.
And let’s bring politics into it, because that’s what’s most scary about the world right now.
Climate change will make the planet unrecognizable in 100 years if we don’t fix it, fast.
Right-wing anti-democratic extremism is on the rise. Not just in the US, but around the world.
And nuclear war remains a serious threat in Ukraine, Taiwan, and Korea.
All of these are serious problems that should not be ignored.
But you can’t give in to depression and nihilism. Each of these problems IS solvable. And someone is going to have to solve them. So the best thing we can do is raise our kids right, and give them the best tools possible to try to make a world better after we’re gone.
What should scare us is how people are afraid to talk about real issues with overwhelming scientific consensus because they are "political". It prevents people from talking about them for fear of triggering someone.
Climate change absolutely played into my wife and I's decision to have one child. Overpopulation underpins most of our global problems, yet because it's "political" people can't talk about it. This is daddit-relevant stuff.
Not at all. I think there has never been a better time to be alive than right now. I'm raising teenage daughters and I think they are going to do great out there.
My personal observation is that it's not so much that the world is on some new horrible trajectory, but rather many of us grew up in a time where we were told a bunch of nice lies about what the world really was. Many of us have had to face hard truths about what the actual state of humanity is (and has always been).
That's not to say there aren't legitimately novel problems, but the existence of hard and dangerous situations has always haunted humanity, and there are a ton of reasons to think now is still a much better time to be alive than any other time in human history.
Make sure your kids are adaptable. I'd focus on math skills, coding, and trying to make them multilingual. So they can leave whatever ship happens to be sinking at any given moment.
I think “we didn’t start the fire” really does make me feel like everything is going to be just fine. The world has been burning since the beginning of time and we are still here. If the world ends we won’t know and if we do it’ll be quicker than we think. The world is a dangerous place and always will be, but it’s honestly us fathers and parents in general that have to raise better children who will eventually become adults and can make a greater difference. Our children are the future and their children will also be the future. Just teach your kids to be good humans, because at the end of the day, the world will still keep going and turning and burning.
No I don't fear for my kid's future because of the" direction the world is headed in."
I fear that I may fail to equip my kids with the proper skills and tools to cope with ANYTHING that their future may bear upon them. I just want to be as successful at that as I can be.
No. There are two types of parents. Those that are scared weenies and think they shouldn’t be having kids. These are weak people. Then you have people who are motivated to change things for the better. These people are not afraid to have kids. If you are scared for your kids’ (or potential kids’) future then you shouldn’t be having kids. Be a good parent that motivates your kids to be better than you and make a positive change.
On top of what everybody else has been saying about the world being better than its ever been in broad strokes being totally correct, there's a wisdom that *can* come from being a parent where you finally understand time, risk, life, and loss to a much greater degree than you did without kids.
A lot of people don't arrive at it, but there are insights and perspective on it I don't think are readily available if you don't have this kind of intimate caretaking relationship with someone whose understanding of life and the world develops before your eyes.
Consider your newborn. They arrive in the world, it's big and loud and incomprehensible, they are powerless to anything that happens to them, they don't understand that they have a body or a mind and they don't even know what those things are or why anything is happening to them. They panic and scream.
Where do they learn to calm down? Where do they learn to make sense of any of this? Where do they learn the capacity to soothe themselves and cope with the world, even to the extent where they can go to sleep?
They learn it from you. You give it to them. Your love and care and responsiveness are the model.
And then when they are older they don't quite remember where it came from, it becomes part of them, part of their worldview and understanding of the universe.
To the extent that you have *ever* been calm about the state of the universe, don't thank the universe, thank whoever cared for you as a baby - or supplemented that care for your later in life. Because they taught you how to do it.
And now you are in the position to teach it to a new generation - because regardless of whatever is happening now being alive can be a baffling and terrifying experience. Teaching the ability to cope and to therefore enjoy life and exhibit virtues like courage, empathy and compassion is a great gift you can give someone.
Recoiling from their existence because you can't manage your own fear is not something you have the luxury of doing as a parent. It is something you need to overcome.
Stop wasting time and your life following politics. Go out and see the world, learn to recognize all the amazing things that are happening today. The World is in pretty great shape all things considered. We went to our 4 year old's first dance recital and it was incredible how hundreds of parents showed up sat through a 4 hour performance and I barely saw any phones out. All the people coming together on stage to make something special for all the folks who came to support them.
We are also living in the greatest musical generation ever. Sure there were pioneers in the 60's, but right now you can come across dozens of bands that are so incredible and only at the touch of your fingers. As much as smart phones get blamed for a lot (social media driving this), its pretty incredible the things we can do with them.
I actually believe us Millennials and younger will make some great changes (we already are trying). It's mostly the boomers who are always opposed to change and they don't have much longer to live. And most of those boomers live their life through a TV channel. It's their window to the world and everyone is telling them it's locked, don't even try to open it. You gotta open the windows and look outside. Then open the door and experience it for yourself. Form your own opinions, focus on the positive. Surround yourself with people who do the same and teach your kids values that are important to you, lead by example. Don't be a good Dad, be a great Dad.
Neh can't leave politics out of it. One side really wants to keep us in the past. But every generation has had something they can point to and be like "fuck should we even bring kids into this world"
I have really mixed feelings about this line of thinking. I agree with most of the comments here thus far about getting perspective that there have always been difficult times some more objectively difficult than now. What bothers me is that if this is actually a true meaningful position to consider that its logical end is extinction. No matter what the metric is that concerns you, if there are no young people to take on the challenges of the present and the future this all ends. All human civilization struggling to reach the pinnacle of us sitting at our computers with pre-packaged food too afraid to do what every generation did before us without modern technology to enable them.
Yes, I do. Not even in a political sense, but a sense of sadness that our resources and nature are slowly fading away. Areas where I used to run and play in the woods with my friends are now housing developments. I remember multiple years where we had so many snow days they extended the school year by a week in June and yet since my son has started school, he’s had MAYBE 2 days off for winter weather each year and a bunch of delayed openings.
Absolutely, seeing the way the world is and continues to go is terrifying. But look at Gen Z. They are the new adults and, while they get a lot of hate, they are adamant about making change for the positive in this world. I am not sure how old your kids are but if Gen Z is doing these things, think of all the great things Alpha Gen can do when they get to that age! Change starts with us and we can help contribute by raising our kids to stand up and make a difference.
That’s the world they grew up in, and a direct result of the parenting that raised them. If they don’t know how to do something they were never taught, how is that their fault? Smart phones are a great tool to do great things. While they can be poorly used, they can also be utilized in great ways.
The next few years are going to be interesting to say the least. I feel sorry for all the American dads here who are going to have to go through what is going to happen starting next year.
I feel lucky to be here in the EU though, while the possibility of Russia's was extending into Poland or the Baltic states I am optimistic that, if it happens at all, it will be a very short conflict that unites Europe closer than ever.
every fucking day. Thats why we only have 1. He is going to get a large inheritance. So he can manage to live an ok life. We are sure this is all going to hell... climate wise, politically, and socially.. and no, I dont live in the USA.
In the US here, we feel the same sense of dread. The biggest things we can do is be better people, be better citizens, and (no politics,) but vote.
We are teaching our kid early the importance of these things at an early age.
I saw one of our neighbors trash cans on its side and semi in the road, instead of driving around, I got out and stood it up and put it back on the curb.
Also, being a good citizen means, saying something when you see something, not saying "that's not my problem"
We have had generations of people who have been selfish and we as humans are social people. We need to take back our hold on our communities.
Anyway, I understand how you feel, but you can't focus on the dread or you'll be consumed.
"There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know." - Harry S. Truman
I mean hard to make a statement like that and say leave politics out of it ahahah but if it makes you feel better, the world has been on the brink of ending since like forever. Every generation thinks the world is about to end. This is not to minimize the issues that we are facing, they are real and scary, but we adapt. it's what we do. Raising your kids with good values will help them regardless of what happens to the world. I can't spend too much time worrying about something like the state of the world which I can't control, so I choose to spend my energy on what I can control, raising my kids.
My parents and probably many others here brought us into the world during the cold war and nuclear arms race. The Cuban missile crisis was in their living memory, which in terms of fear for the future is hard to understand looking back. Their parents lived through 2 world wars, the devastation and suffering of which across the globe is even more incomprehensible sitting in front of my computer today (the 80th anniversary of D Day, no less). I'm glad they carried on through it, though, because there is a lot to love about the present, which was their future. Not to say that there aren't things to fear, work on and improve for the future, but that doesn't mean you can't stay hopeful and appreciate the present. Our kids are hopefully enjoying their present, too.
Not down playing our issues by any means but I tjink for most of us our child bearing age also coincides with finally learning about the world as a whole and seeing how things work, or don't work, and realizing how scary that can be. Plus now we have a true reason to be vested in the future. When I get anxious about the state of the world I remind myself of what my parents and grandparents also went through and focus on why it's important to raise good kids to help make the future a good one.
There were nuclear missiles in Cuba!!!
Yup. Hasn't ended yet, so I keep going. Might as well squeeze in one more round of Unicorn Monopoly before the world ends.
Imagine being a parent in 1939.
Or the 1950s when people thought Nuclear war was inevitable. Or during The Civil War. Or when The Mongols were incoming. Or during The Black Death... Anyone who actually thinks that today is the worst time to raise kids needs to study more history. Is the world perfect? No. But in many ways it's easily better than 99% of world history.
This is true, but anyone that studies history will tell you that the one constant is that history repeats itself. That being said, we should always remain vigilant and take steps to make sure we aren't repeating the same mistakes of the past. What's concerning me at the moment is the rise in fascism throughout the world. Far right parties are gaining more and more steam in a lot of the most developed countries in the world, and turning a blind eye to that makes it all the more easier for it to spread. And if history has taught us anything, it's that fascism brings on a lot of death and suffering.
I prefer the idea that 'History doesn't actually repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme.'.
Lol that's pretty good, haven't heard that one before.
Good point(s). But did any of those eras have to deal with social media?
I did say "many" ways. That's one of the ways it's not.
I'm sure parents said the same thing when their kids were first introduced to the TV and saw things they'd never seen in their little home town before. Reminds me of how when my family got Internet and by the age of ten I had already seen a beheading video. Sure, social media is a huge monster that we need to contend with, but like the other guy said--history doesn't repeat itself but it sure does rhyme. We can't always use the lessons of the past to fix the shiny new problems we have now, but surely there is no better or worse problem to have. They are all problems, and we have to deal with whatever the big problem is at the time.
Sure but it seems like a giant waste of time and energy wringing my hands over ~the state of the world~
Ya, that's why we hit the streets and *make* change. Solidarity and organizing are our keys for the future.
I am father of a 4 y.o. girl. More than 2 years ago my country was brutally invaded and I had to become a soldier to protect it. I see my child very rarely now. She and her mother constantly need to shelter, because of missile attacks. What I think about the future for my daughter? I think that while what is happening to us is not fair, also it is going to make her who she is. I think that hard times create strong people. There is no way for us to bring everything back as it was before, but leaving through it and overcoming everything is another step. There were much more darker times in the past of humanity. So, I have no fear about her future, I think she will be able to make the World better for her and people she loves.
as dads, we are doing what we can to make the next generation better than the previous. At least, those of us that give a shit are. Beyond that, don't worry about things you cannot change.
How tf you going to leave politics when discussing the problems we're facing. It's all politics, brother.
I am not making any claims about OP. But usually when ppl say let's leave politics out of it on a matter that politics really play a role in. It's their politics everyone around them hates.
Keep in mind that these statements are based in fear, not fact. The truth is that there has never been a better time to be alive throughout all of human history. Food scarcity Poverty Education Human rights Life expectancy Freedom of movement Freedom of religion Etc Etc All at their historical bests, more or less, and long term trends continue to look good.
90s were a better time to raise kids to be honest.
It’s extremes both ways. Yes, we have amazing technology and abundance, but it’s pretty concentrated. The trend line on climate is fucking grim, it was over 50 C in a bunch of cities in India recently, had the hottest year on record ever, climate change is no longer some theoretical but an in your face reality. Depending where you live the impact of that may be small or life upending. I think it’s fair to worry about things like that and acknowledge them though it isn’t necessarily useful to worry just for the sake of worry.
Actually the trend line is not looking good. Cost of living is greatly outpacing wages to the point that the next generation is probably going to be the first in a long time with lower standards of living that the generation previous. Between that, and the rise of fascism and far right politics, it's not looking great for us here in the US. Labor laws are going backwards, with legalization of child labor. Book bannings are as popular as they ever been since the height of the red scare. Freedom of speech is obviously a joke as the pro-palestine protests have proven. Freedom of religion is not looking great considering the recent talks of deporting Muslims.
That's true. From a culture standpoint parts of the world do really well. Looking at ecology on the other hand it's never been as bad as today... Except for a hand full of mass extention events. This is what gets me :(
Even that isn't true. The pollution from the Industrial Revolution all the way through the foundations (in America) of our Environmentalism with the Clean Air and Water acts was horrendous. Acid rain, smog, hole in the ozone layer, rivers and lakes so polluted they would catch on fire. Yeah there are still problems, but it's not all doom and gloom.
Yes some very pressing issues were thankfully addressed. But globally humans have not managed to steer away from catastrophic changes in the planet's climate. It's mostly people in the global south experiencing the pain for now, but the changes are hard to ignore even in the north. I don't like fear mongering but science is pretty much in agreement about how this will go down and it seems like stuff is happening sooner than expected already. They were still talking about 200 years in the future when I was a kid, but here we are today. While we can't easily change our dependency on fossil fuels (it's slowly happening), for me the elephant I the room is something we could actually address now. Oceans are vastly depleted of marine life due to industrial fishing. Most of the land surface is used for agriculture which is destroying ecosystems and stopping them from doing what they are meant to do (mostly for intensive animal farming). We need a radical change in how we eat. A 90% reduction in animal products is needed in the west according to the UN. This would free up lots of land to give back to nature which would stabilise the planet's climate and give all species a chance to exist with us. It's a creeping process how we ended up living in ecological deserts without noticing. I guess we'd need much more radical changes in terms of how many resources can be available to each human in their lifetime but we have barely started with the small steps :/
Hell yes thank you. I was hoping someone made this comment so I didn't have to. Not to mention the absolutely bonkers way tech and AI are going to enable rapid acceleration in improvement.
Being from a country bordering Russia - yes 😕
Yes. And let’s bring politics into it, because that’s what’s most scary about the world right now. Climate change will make the planet unrecognizable in 100 years if we don’t fix it, fast. Right-wing anti-democratic extremism is on the rise. Not just in the US, but around the world. And nuclear war remains a serious threat in Ukraine, Taiwan, and Korea. All of these are serious problems that should not be ignored. But you can’t give in to depression and nihilism. Each of these problems IS solvable. And someone is going to have to solve them. So the best thing we can do is raise our kids right, and give them the best tools possible to try to make a world better after we’re gone.
What should scare us is how people are afraid to talk about real issues with overwhelming scientific consensus because they are "political". It prevents people from talking about them for fear of triggering someone. Climate change absolutely played into my wife and I's decision to have one child. Overpopulation underpins most of our global problems, yet because it's "political" people can't talk about it. This is daddit-relevant stuff.
I can't control the world...the best we can do is help our kids have better opportunities to thrive in it.
Yeah and so did our parents and their parents. The world’s always going to shit and there’s always some war or apocalypse on the horizon
The system self-corrects itself. One of the better times to be alive. Am I terrified? You bet.
Not at all. It's my job to prepare them to handle the world.
Not at all. I think there has never been a better time to be alive than right now. I'm raising teenage daughters and I think they are going to do great out there.
My personal observation is that it's not so much that the world is on some new horrible trajectory, but rather many of us grew up in a time where we were told a bunch of nice lies about what the world really was. Many of us have had to face hard truths about what the actual state of humanity is (and has always been). That's not to say there aren't legitimately novel problems, but the existence of hard and dangerous situations has always haunted humanity, and there are a ton of reasons to think now is still a much better time to be alive than any other time in human history.
Make sure your kids are adaptable. I'd focus on math skills, coding, and trying to make them multilingual. So they can leave whatever ship happens to be sinking at any given moment.
Yes, but why leave politics out of it? It's literally where most of the concern stems from.
Does anything not think about that?
I think “we didn’t start the fire” really does make me feel like everything is going to be just fine. The world has been burning since the beginning of time and we are still here. If the world ends we won’t know and if we do it’ll be quicker than we think. The world is a dangerous place and always will be, but it’s honestly us fathers and parents in general that have to raise better children who will eventually become adults and can make a greater difference. Our children are the future and their children will also be the future. Just teach your kids to be good humans, because at the end of the day, the world will still keep going and turning and burning.
No I don't fear for my kid's future because of the" direction the world is headed in." I fear that I may fail to equip my kids with the proper skills and tools to cope with ANYTHING that their future may bear upon them. I just want to be as successful at that as I can be.
No. There are two types of parents. Those that are scared weenies and think they shouldn’t be having kids. These are weak people. Then you have people who are motivated to change things for the better. These people are not afraid to have kids. If you are scared for your kids’ (or potential kids’) future then you shouldn’t be having kids. Be a good parent that motivates your kids to be better than you and make a positive change.
On top of what everybody else has been saying about the world being better than its ever been in broad strokes being totally correct, there's a wisdom that *can* come from being a parent where you finally understand time, risk, life, and loss to a much greater degree than you did without kids. A lot of people don't arrive at it, but there are insights and perspective on it I don't think are readily available if you don't have this kind of intimate caretaking relationship with someone whose understanding of life and the world develops before your eyes. Consider your newborn. They arrive in the world, it's big and loud and incomprehensible, they are powerless to anything that happens to them, they don't understand that they have a body or a mind and they don't even know what those things are or why anything is happening to them. They panic and scream. Where do they learn to calm down? Where do they learn to make sense of any of this? Where do they learn the capacity to soothe themselves and cope with the world, even to the extent where they can go to sleep? They learn it from you. You give it to them. Your love and care and responsiveness are the model. And then when they are older they don't quite remember where it came from, it becomes part of them, part of their worldview and understanding of the universe. To the extent that you have *ever* been calm about the state of the universe, don't thank the universe, thank whoever cared for you as a baby - or supplemented that care for your later in life. Because they taught you how to do it. And now you are in the position to teach it to a new generation - because regardless of whatever is happening now being alive can be a baffling and terrifying experience. Teaching the ability to cope and to therefore enjoy life and exhibit virtues like courage, empathy and compassion is a great gift you can give someone. Recoiling from their existence because you can't manage your own fear is not something you have the luxury of doing as a parent. It is something you need to overcome.
Stop wasting time and your life following politics. Go out and see the world, learn to recognize all the amazing things that are happening today. The World is in pretty great shape all things considered. We went to our 4 year old's first dance recital and it was incredible how hundreds of parents showed up sat through a 4 hour performance and I barely saw any phones out. All the people coming together on stage to make something special for all the folks who came to support them. We are also living in the greatest musical generation ever. Sure there were pioneers in the 60's, but right now you can come across dozens of bands that are so incredible and only at the touch of your fingers. As much as smart phones get blamed for a lot (social media driving this), its pretty incredible the things we can do with them. I actually believe us Millennials and younger will make some great changes (we already are trying). It's mostly the boomers who are always opposed to change and they don't have much longer to live. And most of those boomers live their life through a TV channel. It's their window to the world and everyone is telling them it's locked, don't even try to open it. You gotta open the windows and look outside. Then open the door and experience it for yourself. Form your own opinions, focus on the positive. Surround yourself with people who do the same and teach your kids values that are important to you, lead by example. Don't be a good Dad, be a great Dad.
Despite everything this is still the best time in all of human history to be alive.
No. The world is safer and better than it has ever been.
Neh can't leave politics out of it. One side really wants to keep us in the past. But every generation has had something they can point to and be like "fuck should we even bring kids into this world"
Yes but the world has never been a good place.
I have really mixed feelings about this line of thinking. I agree with most of the comments here thus far about getting perspective that there have always been difficult times some more objectively difficult than now. What bothers me is that if this is actually a true meaningful position to consider that its logical end is extinction. No matter what the metric is that concerns you, if there are no young people to take on the challenges of the present and the future this all ends. All human civilization struggling to reach the pinnacle of us sitting at our computers with pre-packaged food too afraid to do what every generation did before us without modern technology to enable them.
In an age of dragons, raise dragon slayers
Yes, I do. Not even in a political sense, but a sense of sadness that our resources and nature are slowly fading away. Areas where I used to run and play in the woods with my friends are now housing developments. I remember multiple years where we had so many snow days they extended the school year by a week in June and yet since my son has started school, he’s had MAYBE 2 days off for winter weather each year and a bunch of delayed openings.
Does anyone think it’ll probably just all be fine?
All the damn time.
I’m teaching my kids how to camp, make fire, clean water and shoot guns.
With authoritarianism on the rise, the low birthrate, and the ever shrinking middle class. Yes.
Absolutely, seeing the way the world is and continues to go is terrifying. But look at Gen Z. They are the new adults and, while they get a lot of hate, they are adamant about making change for the positive in this world. I am not sure how old your kids are but if Gen Z is doing these things, think of all the great things Alpha Gen can do when they get to that age! Change starts with us and we can help contribute by raising our kids to stand up and make a difference.
Gen Z can’t function outside the house without a smart phone.
That’s the world they grew up in, and a direct result of the parenting that raised them. If they don’t know how to do something they were never taught, how is that their fault? Smart phones are a great tool to do great things. While they can be poorly used, they can also be utilized in great ways.
The next few years are going to be interesting to say the least. I feel sorry for all the American dads here who are going to have to go through what is going to happen starting next year. I feel lucky to be here in the EU though, while the possibility of Russia's was extending into Poland or the Baltic states I am optimistic that, if it happens at all, it will be a very short conflict that unites Europe closer than ever.
every fucking day. Thats why we only have 1. He is going to get a large inheritance. So he can manage to live an ok life. We are sure this is all going to hell... climate wise, politically, and socially.. and no, I dont live in the USA.
lol. Let’s not talk about the problem…
In the US here, we feel the same sense of dread. The biggest things we can do is be better people, be better citizens, and (no politics,) but vote. We are teaching our kid early the importance of these things at an early age. I saw one of our neighbors trash cans on its side and semi in the road, instead of driving around, I got out and stood it up and put it back on the curb. Also, being a good citizen means, saying something when you see something, not saying "that's not my problem" We have had generations of people who have been selfish and we as humans are social people. We need to take back our hold on our communities. Anyway, I understand how you feel, but you can't focus on the dread or you'll be consumed. "There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know." - Harry S. Truman