Re: the role that social media and digital culture have played in the pandemic messaging, it seemed there were some interesting parallels, so I asked some friends of my teens what they thought...

“Kids today have performance anxiety 24/7.”

This is a quote from one of my daughter’s friends, describing what life is like as a teen today.

She said they’re rewarded far less for who they are than who they appear to be.

So much that the former seems almost irrelevent...

And it strikes me that, anecdotally, the people I see most entrenched in the non-sensical, performative signaling (e.g. outdoor masks) are typically <30y.o. - young people who grew up with social media.

Performance is an everyday expectation...

Interestingly, another friend (17) suggested “If the internet suddenly disappeared, I think the world would be better off. Everyone pretends to be so happy but, as far as I can tell, they’re all distracted and lonely. I know I am. I hate the internet...

“I feel like we got screwed” chimed in another friend (18).

“My mom and dad talk about life growing up in the 90’s and it sounds amazing. I didn’t get any of the experiences they describe...

“They had adventures and lives that weren’t for public consumption. I would love to attend just one dance without having to set up a photo shoot beforehand. The pictures - that are all filtered and don’t even look like us - are more important to most kids than the experience...

“It gives this unreal quality to life that actually kind of reminds me of the Covid stuff. Everyone kind of knows that they’re not in danger and most people don’t even know anybody that got really sick — but if you don’t perform the safety stuff properly, you’re an outcast...

“No one wants to be an outcast.”

Sounds about right.

And I’ve been rebuked by my girls for condensing the quotes into mom-speak.

I did try my best to preserve the verbiage but, alas, my oldness snuck in.

-Sigh-

At least I got an analogue childhood.