[Maru]

Originally Posted by Twosugars

I think it's excellent kids are getting more politically aware. After all politics today will decide their future tomorrow. They have the most to gain or lose.
Besides, people tend to be more open to new ideas when young and have less patience with bs. Pity this awakening didn't come early enough for the Brexit vote. Instead, OAPs decided on something they won't be around for to "enjoy".

I'd argue kids have to do a little bit more living&soul searching before forming constructive opinions on everything from family law to real estate taxes. The finer details.

The drawback of this engagement is it's very easy to get into stress/anxiety cycles with social media being in their faces all the time. Which sometimes leads to internet addiction and other anxiety disorders, as they're being told that everything they do, think breath matters and they must act now, pay attention and make their voices heard (insert other ominous platitudes)... and this "action" is usually simply feeling angry and resentful constantly. Not even getting up and doing anything about it usually, just being angry and allowing it to dominate all their personal life decisions and clearly it effects their emotional state in a negative way, given the state of 24hr news cycle(s).

It is also terrible their physical health if they spend hours in a fixed position so stressed. It can lead to chronic adrenaline (think anxiety), which wear the body down over time. Some people also connect the constant stress with feeling attacked, "Oh I feel so stressed... the threat must be real"... and that can become hard-wired if not curtailed, to respond to stress in unhealthy ways rather than spend the time learning to cope with it. Technology already has a huge impact on how our brains and emotions become wired when developing, so adding politics to this I think is more toxic. I think it's OK to allow children to be a little bit involved, like talking with them and helping them to learn to think critically and interpret the information for themselves, but maybe not so much that they become a statistic.

Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...ration/534198/