zookeeper
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by zookeeper on Nov 14, 2015 23:32:47 GMT
I just spent the last 15 minutes discussing the Paris terrorist attack and other world issues with my son who is 18. I am still amazed at how mature he and other teenagers are these days. I don't remember being this in tune with world issues at his age. Sadly, I think part of it is because we did not have this level of concern in the late 80's. It was a simpler time. Is the world worse these days or are the teenagers just that more educated on world issues?
How aware of world issues are your teenagers? What do they think of the attack in Paris?
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Post by cadoodlebug on Nov 14, 2015 23:46:12 GMT
I just spent the last 15 minutes discussing the Paris terrorist attack and other world issues with my son who is 18. I am still amazed at how mature he and other teenagers are these days. I don't remember being this in tune with world issues at his age. Sadly, I think part of it is because we did not have this level of concern in the late 80's. It was a simpler time. Is the world worse these days or are the teenagers just that more educated on world issues? How aware of world issues are your teenagers? What do they think of the attack in Paris? The availability of news via the internet, cell phones, Facebook, etc. puts world events in our faces every day. I was a teenager during the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis and it was personal to me because we were supposed to retire in Hawaii and President Kennedy froze all military retirements. Probably the average teenager at the time wasn't as aware but maybe they were. It was a very tense time in our country as we teetered on the brink of nuclear war. |
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Post by AussieMeg on Nov 14, 2015 23:50:22 GMT
Sadly, I think part of it is because we did not have this level of concern in the late 80's. It was a simpler time. Is the world worse these days or are the teenagers just that more educated on world issues? How aware of world issues are your teenagers? What do they think of the attack in Paris? I agree that teenagers today are certainly more aware of world issues than we were in the 80's. And I believe that is because of social media all the resources they have for getting news - Facebook, Twitter etc etc - that we just didn't have. My 17yo DD was at work yesterday while the Paris attacks were unfolding, and she was following the news on FB. She sent me the following text: "Just saw someone calling for an "Islamic cleanse," that's some Hitler type shit right there." Then when I picked her up after work we discussed what was happening. She also mentioned the bombings in Beirut and said that she thought it strange that it was happening there (although she wasn't entirely sure where Beirut was). I replied that back when I was her age, Beirut was synonymous with bombings etc. |
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Post by cindyupnorth on Nov 14, 2015 23:52:47 GMT
I think teens and young adults are VERY aware these days. They have to be. Esp if they are in college. The world is a bigger, badder, just more available these days then when I was growing up!!
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Post by bc2ca on Nov 14, 2015 23:52:58 GMT
DS(16) is very aware of world events. I wasn't home last night, so we didn't get a chance to talk about the Paris attacks. The first thing he asked this morning was if I thought they had anything to do with the strike that killed Jihadi John so he is definitely thinking and processing the events.
DD(18) is not interested in world events in the same way. She thinks it is horrifying, but doesn't really want to watch any coverage or think about the events.
I don't think teens as a group are any more in tune with world events though. I vividly remember discussing and devouring information on the 72 Olympics, the Iran Hostage Crisis, FLQ crisis in Canada, Jonestown mass suicide, world pressure on South Africa's apartheid policy, etc.. The 24 hour news, internet and social media do add a different level to access to information, but I still think as many teens were aware, interested in and talking about world events in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc.
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zookeeper
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by zookeeper on Nov 14, 2015 23:58:00 GMT
I find this so interesting. I do think that college students are much more aware of world issues. DS168 goes to a school that has a large Muslim population and he tells me that they have discussions all the time in class.
I do think social media has absolutely changed the way we all view the world.
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Post by just PEAchy on Nov 15, 2015 0:05:11 GMT
My kids are 16, 14 and 12 and I think they are very aware, but not really more that I was at that age, I remember watching the news with my parents at 5 & 10 almost every night. The difference is we didn't really discuss anything. My kids and I discuss national and world events all the time. They are really interested in the presidential race right now. We talk a lot about historical events as well.
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back to *pea*ality
Pearl Clutcher
Not my circus, not my monkeys ~refugee pea #59
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Jun 25, 2014 19:51:11 GMT
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Post by back to *pea*ality on Nov 15, 2015 0:13:12 GMT
When DH was a teen, he participated in Model UN. He was very in tune with world events. Sadly, 911 happened when he was 10 years old. Of course we limited the coverage he was allowed to see. For those in NYC, Washington DC and within the Northeast corridor and Shanksville PA - life just stopped, major roads closed , public transportation wasn't running - it was chaos. I was getting other people's kids at the bus stop as they were trying to figure out how to get home. I am not sure that the rest of the Country experienced this. I know he was profoundly effected.
I remember in the aftermath of 911 schools in my community practiced lock down drills. I recall making up a box with water bottles, food,snacks. I wrote a note telling him that he was safe, not to worry that dad and I loved him, a photo of the three of us, and that dad and I come and get him soon. I hadn't thought about this in a long time.
Edited to add that DS was a gamer. I remember he used to play on an international server and talked to kids all over the world.
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Post by anxiousmom on Nov 15, 2015 0:55:53 GMT
I grew up in a capital city and what I noticed after I left is how much information was discussed there vs. outside of that world. It was done in such a casual way, mostly because it was the primary focus of the business of the city. Not just the politicians, but the people who worked for them, the people who worked for the workers etc. In all that, I think I was really aware of what what was going on, particularly as it related to Florida.
My kids are also fairly aware. I am a news junkie and we always talked politics, current events and the implications of both through out the day. My oldest boy has really taken to it and very much wants to get a political science degree. I have the most interesting discussions with my youngest-he and I rarely agree-but we do talk a lot. I have a history degree which I think makes my views more global, he is young and full of youthful passion so he tends to take things more personally. But y'all, I love those discussions. He teaches me more than I teach him I think.
So I am not completely sure that it is that different now, it just feels that way because information is instantaneous now rather than having to wait for the evening news or only what you get in the paper.
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by raindancer on Nov 15, 2015 0:58:15 GMT
DS(16) is very aware of world events. I wasn't home last night, so we didn't get a chance to talk about the Paris attacks. The first thing he asked this morning was if I thought they had anything to do with the strike that killed Jihadi John so he is definitely thinking and processing the events. DD(18) is not interested in world events in the same way. She thinks it is horrifying, but doesn't really want to watch any coverage or think about the events. I don't think teens as a group are any more in tune with world events though. I vividly remember discussing and devouring information on the 72 Olympics, the Iran Hostage Crisis, FLQ crisis in Canada, Jonestown mass suicide, world pressure on South Africa's apartheid policy, etc.. The 24 hour news, internet and social media do add a different level to access to information, but I still think as many teens were aware, interested in and talking about world events in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc. I don't know. I was a teen in the late 80s early 90s and was very active in political debates and my government class. I read a ton, and tried to glean as much as I could from newspapers, etc. about world events. But finding anyone else to talk to about that stuff was pretty tough. There were a handful of us on the debate team and academic team that would talk about this stuff, but most of my friends were pretty flippant if it wasn't happening in our town. It wasn't like you went to the coffee shop and read the paper with your friends and then talked about it. I don't think that they are digging into it deeply though, over all. |
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Deleted
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Jun 7, 2024 7:13:26 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2015 1:08:13 GMT
Prior to 1980 CNN didn't exist at all. You only got the news at 7 am, noon, 6 pm and 10 pm
Most of those times were busy with school or homework/dinner or passed a bedtime.
CNN was a change in news access but most parents didn't feel all news was appropriate, even for teens. Even though CNN wss 24 hour, in those early years the reporting was still several days behind an event happening. The coverage on Saturday was the events from Wednesday.
Teen years were seen as the last stage of a free from worry childhood so there wasn't a big push to be up to date on world events for anyone under 18.
Now, kids have instant access to world news as it happens. Parents aren't in total control of what kids see/hear so there is more family, teacher, caregiver discussion on real time events. I do think this current crop of kids are more world aware simply because they have more world access than previous generations.
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Deleted
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Jun 7, 2024 7:13:26 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2015 1:12:30 GMT
I think that teens now obviously have more access to information than we did in the 80s/90s, simply because the internet as we know it now exists.
However, I think for our era, the community of teens I grew up with were quite well informed and interested in world affairs. As seniors, we did a capstone mock middle east peace conference - months in advance, we were assigned the country we would represent and we began a lot of prep work and research. It was an institution at the school and it did a lot to help us develop an interest in international affairs long before our senior year. The first Gulf War happened when I was in high school, so that also sparked interest. Lots and lots of conversations about world events happened in and out of school. We were all typically idealistic for our ages, of course, but by and large we were interested and informed.
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Post by freecharlie on Nov 15, 2015 1:29:12 GMT
My kids are 14 and 11. They know what is going on, but it doesn't really affect their lives. We don't hide the world from them.
I think I was pretty knowledgable in my young adult years. We watched in school as Waco ended and the building went up in flames after watching a little each day on the updates my junior or senior year in high school. I was a junior or senior when the WTC was bombed. My first year of college (so 19 years old), was the Oklahoma City bombing. The next year was the Olympic Park bombing. I live in the state where Columbine occurred and watched it unfold on TV.
Desert Shield and Desert Storm were during my high school time.
The Berlin Wall Falling was my time, as was the opening of the Iron Curtain and Glasnost.
World wide, I remember a massacre in Sri Lanka, an attack on the subways in Japan, the IRA in Ireland, Pan Am Flight 103 was when I was in jr high.
Kids are going to be more informed. If nothing else, they see the profile pics on FB and have some idea. They have 24 hour news, twitter, facebook, internet sites...
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zookeeper
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by zookeeper on Nov 15, 2015 2:01:36 GMT
But y'all, I love those discussions. He teaches me more than I teach him I think. This is exactly how I feel! |
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zookeeper
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by zookeeper on Nov 15, 2015 2:07:10 GMT
They don't discriminate or judge a group by a few radicals. I have noticed this as well. DS18 is quick to point out that we cannot paint all Muslims with a radicalist brush. But...he is also concerned about how we deal with Syrian refugees. He said to me "European countries are going to have to limit refugees coming into their countries. They can only enter the country if....." Then he stopped. "If what" I asked him. This is the hard part. How do you limit refugees entering your country and place stipulations? There is no sure fire way unless you stop all refugees from entering your country. But is that the right answer? Our world is in a very difficult place. |
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Post by maryland on Nov 15, 2015 2:36:57 GMT
My older kids are 16 and 18 (college freshman) and they don't read the papers or watch the news. They get most of their news through social media. My 12 yr. old has an ipod touch, so sees instagram and snapchat. All the kids (12 yr. old's friends) have something about Paris posted, but I am not sure how much they actually understand though.
I did pick up my 16 yr. old daughter's friend to take them to a party last night and the girl asked us if we had heard about what happened in Paris, and what all did I know because she just caught bits and pieces on the tv.
My 18 yr. old texted to me to say she and her college friends went to DC today and went to the White House and also saw the French Ambassador (to us) speak about what happened in Paris and she said there were a lot of French people there. She said he spoke in French and English and they sang the French National Anthem. She took French for 4 yrs. in High School, and it meant a lot to her to be able to be there and think/pray for the families.
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Post by anonrefugee on Nov 15, 2015 2:46:34 GMT
My kids are not only more aware of current events, they can give historical references and comparisons during the discussions. This engineering major mom needs to brush up on her history!
It's wonderful though. I ask them what they mean and they teach and give me their perspective. I write more than one thank you note each semester to a teacher for a discussion we have at home.
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zookeeper
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by zookeeper on Nov 15, 2015 3:07:05 GMT
It's wonderful though. I ask them what they mean and they teach and give me their perspective. I write more than one thank you note each semester to a teacher for a discussion we have at home. Perfect! ITA with you. DS was in AP history and the GT Phoenix program in high school and they really focused on current issues. He is a rhetoric class at college right now and they also discuss a lot of timely topics. Our teenagers today really are amazing. I do not believe as others do that we are doomed because of our young ones. I think that they are the key to our future and they are so intelligent and educated on current issues. |
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calgal08
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 27, 2014 15:43:46 GMT
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Post by calgal08 on Nov 15, 2015 16:29:47 GMT
Both my kids are very aware (ages 12 and 8). We all watch the news every night. We talk about it, we listen to their questions and answer as much as we can. For us, it's important for them to be aware of what's going on in the world.
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stittsygirl
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by stittsygirl on Nov 15, 2015 16:36:13 GMT
DD, 18, is very aware and often brings up current events and world news at the dinner table, sometimes stuff even her father and I didn't know. The rest of my children live in their own little bubble in their heads, so I'm glad their sister so often shares her knowledge in a family setting like that, then we can all talk about it. It's probably more interesting to the younger ones coming from their cool older sister than their boring parents.
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Post by jumperhop on Nov 15, 2015 16:43:53 GMT
I was very aware of current events and what was going on in the world when I was a teen. I caught my 14 year old DS looking up videos last night. The first was that Bush was behind 9-11, The second was Donald Trumps political views. We had a great conversation.
Jen
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wellway
Prolific Pea
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Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Nov 15, 2015 17:50:17 GMT
My dd12 is very aware, I though how poignant it was that on Saturday morning that her football team and their opponents held a minute's silence in the miserable drizzle as a mark of respect. I was thinking you all too young to have world events touching you like this.
When she comes down every morning, one of her first questions is "What's in the news?" followed by Can I check the sports results?
Her current school project (ten weeks) is a study of how effective protest has been and covers topics like civil rights in USA in the 50s and 60s, whaling protests and protests about the third runway at Heathrow. It has lead to interesting discussions.
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likescarrots
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by likescarrots on Nov 15, 2015 18:01:26 GMT
I was very aware of current events as I have a veteran father with severe PTSD and it always gets a little worse surrounding conflicts. We also didn't have cable so no CNN, but my parents were glued to the TV during the evening news, so knowing about these things was always very much part of my life.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Nov 15, 2015 19:25:53 GMT
I think it depends on the kid - both then and now. I read the newspaper every morning in high school. Like others have posted, was in high school during the first gulf war and highly engaged with what was going on. I knew many then who were clueless. I know many teens today who are engaged and knowledgeable and many who are clueless. While there is more easily accessed information than the 80s and 90d there's also a ton more misinformation. There's also a huge segment of the population that celebrates ignorance and who seem to relish that they know more about celebrities than current affairs.
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