Eclectic taste!

For me it’s mostly a lot of 80’s post-punk and synth pop type of music (think Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, Bauhaus, etc.) I just associate that music with a time in my life when I was young and carefree. Feels good man.

Thunder up!

This was pretty much my last DND group except maybe replace the manipulator with another idiot.

Pretty fucking weird.

This post has some real The 9th Gate vibes. Love it. I hope you find your book someday.

I teach tweens at a middle school, but don’t have children of my own. The school I work at is in a low-income area of a deeply red state in the US.

Here are some of my observations:

Many of these kids are legit addicted to their phones and short-form media. (But who isn’t in this day and age?)

I am concerned about the type of content boys are being fed. Lots to very young Andrew Tate fans and such. I overhear a lot of misogynistic or racist ideas being discussed very casually. Despite the outliers, I think many of my students are just baseline more understanding of other races, those that identify as LGBTQ+, and more aware of their emotions. Interracial relationships and friendships are common. Looking back, the 90s (when I grew up) was rife with casual racism and hate.

Some of the girls are shockingly vain. My school uses iPads and these kids will just stare at themselves in the camera non-stop. It’s kind of weird.

Social media definitely fuels a lot of dumb pranks and idiotic behavior around the school. (Again, this isn’t an issue specific to teens.)

The learning gap between the high achievers and low achievers is staggering. I have wonderfully bright students as well as students that are functionally illiterate at 12-13 years old. This is more a failure of an education system than a fault of the kids though.

These kids seem nihilistic/apathetic in a way I don’t remember me or my peers being at that age.

All-in-all, I’m remain cery hopeful of these kids, but their addiction to technology and the kind of content they get served by the algorithms is very concerning. I can’t imagine going through life without much of a formal education and building your entire worldview around social media.

That’s really heartbreaking. I’m sorry for your loss.

Damn… What happened? Did she just go down the conspiracy theory worm hole?

I feel like the only way to actually enjoy video games anymore is to not pay attention to reviews or read about video games.

I switched careers and became a middle school teacher at 40. I am now 42 and finishing my Masters of secondary education. It’s never too late.