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MightyKrakyn t1_j1izka8 wrote

> the rampant superficiality among younger generations

Big oof. The superficiality of humanity has recorded for thousands of years. Do better than blaming it on these damn kids. Go read some Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, The Count of Monte Christo, Beowulf, the poems of Catullus, anything by Aristotle. Superficiality among the youth has always been considered rampant and humanity’s downfall. Turns out we’re still here.

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[deleted] t1_j1j3lmk wrote

[deleted]

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MightyKrakyn t1_j1j4yez wrote

Wow, this is like legitimately sad. I know people who are just coming out of high school who are nothing like that. I was the first social media generation, and I thought the same things. All of these fake people just want to be reality stars and get spray tans to duckface on their MySpace yada yada. One reason we look at our peers this way is because with climate change knocking at the door, we all stare into the void much earlier. This is just bitterness at a small group of the larger whole. Meet more people in meat space and see how big of a change there is in your perspective.

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bhbhbhhh t1_j1jt4u0 wrote

Look up some information on the current state of literacy among young Americans in grade school and college. It’s not so easy to dismiss when it’s being measured and studied.

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ONEAlucard t1_j1jurk5 wrote

America isn’t the whole world

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bhbhbhhh t1_j1jvc0i wrote

Does that make it less shameful?

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ONEAlucard t1_j1jwa5h wrote

What does shame have to do with it?

Unless you believe it is the children’s fault they are falling behind? Which would be strange.

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bhbhbhhh t1_j1k2qx1 wrote

You think the OP spoke of superficiality and thought it a good thing?

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ONEAlucard t1_j1k66tf wrote

You argue in bad faith.

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bhbhbhhh t1_j1k6qmz wrote

I would say that “What does shame have to do with it?” is a bad faith response.

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ONEAlucard t1_j1k7p07 wrote

It’s not. It’s asking why you think it is shameful. Because that term has no meaning in this situation. Something you have still yet to answer.

Asking that does not assume something else is good. Which you assumed I meant, based on absolutely no prompt from me. That is arguing in bad faith.

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bhbhbhhh t1_j1k8gcg wrote

I think it’s shameful because I can’t imagine not being ashamed of seeing my country’s educational institutions fail after spending centuries building up a proud tradition of excellence and cutting edge research.

What do you mean, it has no meaning in this situation? Without any explanation, all I could do was speculate. It’s not arguing in bad faith to ask a question in order to clear up your uncertainty about what the other person things.

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ONEAlucard t1_j1ka4k1 wrote

You didn’t ask a question. You made an assumption. Suggesting you thought i believed it was good. I’m not overly interested in discussing with someone that cloud talks like you do.

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MightyKrakyn t1_j1jvpxs wrote

What do you think the literacy rate was 200 years ago? A thousand years ago? I need you to understand that the youth are not in control of the circumstances surround this recent fall in literacy in the United States. The people complaining have been in charge this whole time

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bhbhbhhh t1_j1k30ar wrote

Guy at the top of rollercoaster hill: Why are you all screaming? Can’t you see that we’re higher than the start of the ride?

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Funktownajin t1_j1kgqlh wrote

Good analogy. Everyone here is pretending we aren't at the precipice of global calamity, cause it's been going up and hey look the past wasn't great either. Most of the happy preaching people just don't really care and that's why It doesn't affect them much until their own lives are impacted.

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LorenzoApophis t1_j1j1vco wrote

Have you considered that maybe it's been recorded for thousands of years because it's been there for thousands of years? I mean, how can you recommend all these old works and dismiss the observations of old writers at the same time?

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keestie t1_j1jkw5v wrote

Dude. Missing the point. The point is, it isn't a new phenomenon.

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MightyKrakyn t1_j1j3eq0 wrote

Catcher in the Rye specifically has a character that accuses others of superficiality but is wrong. The Great Gatsby shows how the accusation of superficiality can be reversed. Each of these works is nuanced in how they relate to this topic. You can also recommend a work for someone to read not because you agree with it, but as a point of disagreement.

I dismiss those like Aristotle’s viewpoint because of the assertion that their youth are particularly superficial and causing the moral decay of society, but the moral decay is always happening under the leadership of the elder generation making those claims. The real thread here is how those who fail and age and run out of time to correct the world before they go have been quick to lash out at bon vive in the naïveté of the youth. It’s reactive nonsense, bitterness in the face of the void

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platitood t1_j1jqjjo wrote

It’s not because every generation is more shallow that the previous one. It’s because every generation gets older, there are a few point changes and they certainly see younger people as shallow. It’s a cycle of perception.

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