I innocently smiled when i read about conversations preceeding the forthcoming talk show because this topic resonates deeply with me..... in the journey from childhood to adulthood, many adolescents find themselves holding their heads high not because they were tied to their parents' lives, but because they weren't forced to jump rather than grow hence they will stay up tight.
Many of us were told what to do, who to be, and how to live rather than being nurtured into discovering it for ourselves. We were pushed, not encouraged. Commanded, not guided. So we learned to jump when life shouted at us, rather than grow quietly and steadily. And fortunately, for me, i didnt jumped, i grew because my story was different from yours.....laugh
Thank you so much for sharing your reflection — it resonates more deeply than you might imagine. We are all unique in our thinking, and therefore, the choices we are presented with or decide to take create millions of possible outcomes that we often cannot even fathom. Your response, and even simply reaching out on such a meaningful topic, makes complete sense to us.
It raises the grande question we always keep close: What can we do about it? How can we help others walk, not just jump - as you chose to stand tall on your own life's choices, into their own becoming?
We would genuinely love to set up a call with you to explore this further. If our missions align, it would be an honor to discuss how we might collaborate to nurture growth mindsets and empower more young lives meaningfully. Let us know if this interests you. Our team is based out in Singapore and available on Weekdays 10-5 pm Singapore time - to give an idea with the timing.
n reading your fascinating conversation this morning between yourself and your colleague, I was suddenly reminded of Neil Postman's book, 'The Disappearance of Childhood'. His profound thesis as I remember it, is basically that childhood is a social-cultural construction and that throughout human history it disappears and reappears according to the social, cultural,political, technical milieu. For instance, childhood disappeared in the Industrial Revolution at least in the urban centres of the world like London - because of the economic demand for a larger workforce 'children' as soon as they were physically able were thrust into the adult work force and then exposed to all the adult realities with very psychologically, emotionally damaging impacts on children. So in this period of human civilization there were no children, only babies and 'adults'.Postman, the prophet, way back in 1982, way before the internet detected that once again childhood was disappearing. He could see that through unsupervised access to global media primarily through television children were no longer being sheltered from adult realities - experience and knowledge. He stated three ways in which he saw childhood disappearing: the disappearance of childrens traditional unsupervised games; the growing similiarity of childrens and adults clothing; and most tellingly, especially in the light of the powerful gut- wrenching series, 'Adolescence', ; increasing cases of children committing adult crimes such as murder! And this before the infinitely more powerful technological impact of the internet, where children are exposed to not just the extraordinary wonder and beauty of the world but at the same time the horror, and outright evil of what is happening in the world. Seeing this through Postman's eyes we realise we have literally no idea of how the internet; AI i; social media ( incel etc) is impacting on childhood. If in 1982, Postman was warning that once again childhood was disappearing what would he being thinking and writing about now if he was still alive.He wrote other extraordinarily prescient works such as, Amusing Ourselves to Death; Teaching As a Subversive Activity and The End of Education. I have much more to say on this topic and will hopefully attend the April 27 conversation
Thank you Matthew Ryan for your comments. The conversation was between one of our team members and a collaborator working with us on a similar project.
Your reflection is incredibly thought-provoking — thank you for bringing Neil Postman’s lens into this conversation. We couldn’t agree more that what Postman foresaw has only accelerated beyond imagination with today’s technological landscape.
You’ve touched on something vital: if childhood was already "disappearing" in the age of television, what does it mean now in the hyper-fragmented, hyper-stimulated world of AI, social media, and algorithmic influence? The scale and subtlety of what is happening to children's cognitive, emotional, and moral development today might be beyond even Postman's most powerful warnings.
Your point stirs up so many questions for us too — not just about the diagnosis, but the path forward. What do we preserve? How do we guide? What new forms of "sheltering" and "growth" must we design without falling into overprotection or fear-driven narratives?
I innocently smiled when i read about conversations preceeding the forthcoming talk show because this topic resonates deeply with me..... in the journey from childhood to adulthood, many adolescents find themselves holding their heads high not because they were tied to their parents' lives, but because they weren't forced to jump rather than grow hence they will stay up tight.
Many of us were told what to do, who to be, and how to live rather than being nurtured into discovering it for ourselves. We were pushed, not encouraged. Commanded, not guided. So we learned to jump when life shouted at us, rather than grow quietly and steadily. And fortunately, for me, i didnt jumped, i grew because my story was different from yours.....laugh
Thank you so much for sharing your reflection — it resonates more deeply than you might imagine. We are all unique in our thinking, and therefore, the choices we are presented with or decide to take create millions of possible outcomes that we often cannot even fathom. Your response, and even simply reaching out on such a meaningful topic, makes complete sense to us.
It raises the grande question we always keep close: What can we do about it? How can we help others walk, not just jump - as you chose to stand tall on your own life's choices, into their own becoming?
We would genuinely love to set up a call with you to explore this further. If our missions align, it would be an honor to discuss how we might collaborate to nurture growth mindsets and empower more young lives meaningfully. Let us know if this interests you. Our team is based out in Singapore and available on Weekdays 10-5 pm Singapore time - to give an idea with the timing.
n reading your fascinating conversation this morning between yourself and your colleague, I was suddenly reminded of Neil Postman's book, 'The Disappearance of Childhood'. His profound thesis as I remember it, is basically that childhood is a social-cultural construction and that throughout human history it disappears and reappears according to the social, cultural,political, technical milieu. For instance, childhood disappeared in the Industrial Revolution at least in the urban centres of the world like London - because of the economic demand for a larger workforce 'children' as soon as they were physically able were thrust into the adult work force and then exposed to all the adult realities with very psychologically, emotionally damaging impacts on children. So in this period of human civilization there were no children, only babies and 'adults'.Postman, the prophet, way back in 1982, way before the internet detected that once again childhood was disappearing. He could see that through unsupervised access to global media primarily through television children were no longer being sheltered from adult realities - experience and knowledge. He stated three ways in which he saw childhood disappearing: the disappearance of childrens traditional unsupervised games; the growing similiarity of childrens and adults clothing; and most tellingly, especially in the light of the powerful gut- wrenching series, 'Adolescence', ; increasing cases of children committing adult crimes such as murder! And this before the infinitely more powerful technological impact of the internet, where children are exposed to not just the extraordinary wonder and beauty of the world but at the same time the horror, and outright evil of what is happening in the world. Seeing this through Postman's eyes we realise we have literally no idea of how the internet; AI i; social media ( incel etc) is impacting on childhood. If in 1982, Postman was warning that once again childhood was disappearing what would he being thinking and writing about now if he was still alive.He wrote other extraordinarily prescient works such as, Amusing Ourselves to Death; Teaching As a Subversive Activity and The End of Education. I have much more to say on this topic and will hopefully attend the April 27 conversation
Thank you Matthew Ryan for your comments. The conversation was between one of our team members and a collaborator working with us on a similar project.
Your reflection is incredibly thought-provoking — thank you for bringing Neil Postman’s lens into this conversation. We couldn’t agree more that what Postman foresaw has only accelerated beyond imagination with today’s technological landscape.
You’ve touched on something vital: if childhood was already "disappearing" in the age of television, what does it mean now in the hyper-fragmented, hyper-stimulated world of AI, social media, and algorithmic influence? The scale and subtlety of what is happening to children's cognitive, emotional, and moral development today might be beyond even Postman's most powerful warnings.
Your point stirs up so many questions for us too — not just about the diagnosis, but the path forward. What do we preserve? How do we guide? What new forms of "sheltering" and "growth" must we design without falling into overprotection or fear-driven narratives?
Totally agree that “ Joy, not grades, is the foundation of growth.”
Looking forward to April 27 parenting event
Very relevant topic !
I have left a comment in my response to your conversation David. See beliw