We’re not prying the millions of teens off the sites they use.
The better alternative than screaming and preaching shit nobody wants to hear is to provide better alternatives. In time, topics like rape and murder and suicide are going to become almost a mystique, a forbidden world of knowledge. With sites like 4Chan finally dying, there’s a real vacuum out there for a place “kids can sneak off to” and learn the truth.
Or even better, talk to them personally. Make sure the people in your lives, particularly younger ones, know they can talk about rape, death, sex and other “taboo” topics without being yelled at, shot down or reacted-to in a negative way. I promise, people of all ages are desperate to connect with others in an honest, non-judgemental way.
It would serve us better to just stop using the internet ourselves and devote more of that time to helping people in person. I taught and coached boys and young men for a long time, I made a huge difference. It’s not even hard to do, it just takes patience and a calm demeanor and you can move mountains.
We’re not prying the millions of teens off the sites they use.
The better alternative than screaming and preaching shit nobody wants to hear is to provide better alternatives. In time, topics like rape and murder and suicide are going to become almost a mystique, a forbidden world of knowledge. With sites like 4Chan finally dying, there’s a real vacuum out there for a place “kids can sneak off to” and learn the truth.
Or even better, talk to them personally. Make sure the people in your lives, particularly younger ones, know they can talk about rape, death, sex and other “taboo” topics without being yelled at, shot down or reacted-to in a negative way. I promise, people of all ages are desperate to connect with others in an honest, non-judgemental way.
It would serve us better to just stop using the internet ourselves and devote more of that time to helping people in person. I taught and coached boys and young men for a long time, I made a huge difference. It’s not even hard to do, it just takes patience and a calm demeanor and you can move mountains.
That sounds like work. Why can’t I bitch about the minor annoyance of a trigger warning and a line through a word?