Anxiety and the nanny state

In my early years of graduate school, I came to read about--and watch on television as well--the free speech movement at Berkeley, and how Reagan, who was the governor of California then, could not stand those student protests.  Reagan perhaps even owed his political successes to the radical movements, which he attacked and capitalized on in his culture war against freedom in many ways and for many people.

Fifty years later, we continue to fight those same culture wars of free speech.  But, oddly enough, young people these days prefer restrictions on free speech, and seem to be even losing faith in freedom!

protecting children from needless harm became conflated with shielding them from stressors and uncertainties (such as having to solve everyday problems, like getting lost, on one’s own) that are critical for developing personal independence.

Those raised on free speech movements turned around to protect and shelter their precious kids so much that now these young adults are scaredy cats who don't want to be free!  On college campuses, it has taken on crazy forms:

Colleges and universities have exacerbated the problem of dependence by promoting what is sometimes called a culture of victimhood. American college students (who are some of the safest and most privileged people on the planet) are to be protected from, and encouraged to be ever-vigilant about and even report, any behavior that could cause emotional distress. Feelings and experiences that were once considered part of everyday life, such as being offended by someone’s political views, are now more likely to be treated as detrimental to mental health.

I get angry and depressed with trump's words, yes.  But, that idiot saying whatever pleases him is the very mark of freedom that makes America different.  How can college-age adults--the key word is "adults"--not understand freedom of expression?

One of the reasons is: Fear and anxiety.

Anxiety is the most common mental-health disorder in the United States, affecting nearly one-third of both adolescents and adults, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

That begins right from when they are children:

Suniya Luthar, a professor of psychology at Arizona State University who has studied distress and resilience in both well-off and disadvantaged teenagers, has found that privileged youths are among the most emotionally distressed young people in America. “These kids are incredibly anxious and perfectionistic,” she says, but there’s “contempt and scorn for the idea that kids who have it all might be hurting.”

What are the adults doing?

In a seemingly well-meaning effort to help kids avoid what makes them anxious, administrators actually make anxiety worse. “Anxiety is all about the avoidance of uncertainty and discomfort,” Lyons explained. “When we play along, we don’t help kids learn to cope or problem-solve in the face of unexpected events.”

And, given that you have been reading this blog for years, you know well there is one major factor behind an increased level of anxiety these days: Social media!

Anxious kids certainly existed before Instagram, but many of the parents I spoke to worried that their kids’ digital habits — round-the-clock responding to texts, posting to social media, obsessively following the filtered exploits of peers — were partly to blame for their children’s struggles. To my surprise, anxious teenagers tended to agree. At Mountain Valley, I listened as a college student went on a philosophical rant about his generation’s relationship to social media. “I don’t think we realize how much it’s affecting our moods and personalities,” he said. “Social media is a tool, but it’s become this thing that we can’t live without but that’s making us crazy.”

When these kids grow up ...?

Lyons sees a connection between how some schools deal with anxious students and what she worries is a generation of young people increasingly insistent on safe spaces — and who believe their feelings should be protected at all costs. “Kids are being given some really dangerous messages these days about the fact that they can’t handle being triggered, that they shouldn’t have to bear witness to anything that makes them uncomfortable and that their external environments should bend to and accommodate their needs,” she told me.

You can now see why college students now actually favor restriction on expression.

A few years ago, there was a young woman ready to graduate from the Honors Program.  She was heading to law school on the east coast after graduation.  Her only sister was already in London working on her graduate degree.  I asked her what her parents thought about their two daughters going so far away from home, from Oregon.

Her response was awesome.  And says a lot about her parents.  The parents apparently always told the two daughters that their task was to help the daughters grow their wings, after which they expected--and wanted--the daughters to fly on their own.

At graduation, I met her parents.  I shared with them what their daughter had told me.  They smiled.  They were happy.  No anxieties.  No fear.  No worries.  But that was a decade ago, and apparently life has changed a lot since then--seemingly for the worse!