School Is Worse

 School is Way Worse for Kids Than Social Media.  Eli-Stark-Elster

One of my favorite tests: "Compared to What?" We read about the terrible things that social media and video games do to children's development.  I do not say such things are untrue.  In my day it was comic books and TV that rotted the brain, and I imagine it did.  Either my junior or senior year of high school, I watched "Gilligan's Island" three times every night - two of them the same episode. I know see it as a good form of zoning out. When you have anxiety sufficient to require at least 60 minutes - often 120 - to fall asleep every night, the brain seeks something mindless enough to relax, interesting enough to keep you in the chair.

School was great because I got to see my friends before, after, and between classes. But many of my classes I would go in prepared to start slowly counting until the end of the class as soon as paying attention became intolerable, but having to look attentive. Even being challenged wore off rather quickly. I loved the first two weeks of advanced summer studies, 4 hours a day, six days a week of the same subject, plus homework that was new ground we were supposed to capture by morning.  Weeks three and four were okay.  Week five I was starting to wane.  Week six I was checked out again.

I suppose it was dime novels that started us on the road to ruin, eh?  

 For instance: did you know that daily social media use increases the likelihood a child will commit suicide by 12-18%? Or that teenagers are far more likely to visit the ER for psychiatric problems if they have an Instagram account? Or that a child’s amount of social media use, past a certain threshold, correlates exponentially with poorer sleep, lower reported wellbeing, and more severe mental health symptoms?

If that was all true for social media— and again, none of it is — you and I both would agree that people under 16 or so should not have access to platforms like Instagram or Snapchat. Imagine allowing your child to enter any system that would make them 12-18% more likely to kill themselves. That would be insane. You wouldn’t let your kid anywhere near that system, and the public would protest until it was eliminated once for all.

Great. So let’s get rid of school.

Yes, there’s the obvious twist — all the data I just listed is true for the effects of school. The modern education system is probably the single biggest threat to the mental health of children. 

 

I don't know what I would design instead. I am pretty sure I would order the complete set of Junior Classics comic books. How else would I ever read Silas Marner?