AIBU to find a girl's comment about social media quite sad

[FelicityShagsWell]

I just heard the story on the radio about Kier Starmer wanting to tighten up access to social media for under 16s. A few sound bites from some children followed. One girl said it's unfair because there's nothing else to do. Am I unreasonable to find that utterly sad?

I’m amazed that some people think the girl gave a serious answer to the question. She was taking the piss.

@Danhausenrocks but I’m not saying my experience is the only valid one, I’m just trying to point out that a lot of the suggestions on threads like this simply aren’t possible for many.

MN is very skewed towards the middle class so people tend to either have money to chuck at their kids or they live in a “naice” town with lots of amenities or good public transport.

I remember writing on a thread years ago that I lived in a town but that the only supermarket within 30 miles was a Tesco and I was basically accused of lying by one poster who couldn’t believe towns like that existed 😂

Not sure that watching tv or gaming is any better than social media really.

Gaming, in particular, seems to include lots of chat rooms which people use to communicate, send nefarious links/photos etc whilst playing the game or more likely, pretending to play the game. Because it's not email nor internet as such, it's not policed in any way, and parents often don't even realise what such chats are capable of - they look at the device, see their little darling has been playing MInecraft or whatever without realise most of the time was actually chatting on the integrated chat rooms.

Yes, I was shocked about a decade ago when my son started secondary and there was so much on the internet, i.e. online homework instead of a paper planner, extensive use of online textbooks instead of paper textbooks, an online resource portal/VLE to access worksheets, revision resources, etc. Yes, maybe a smart phone wasn't needed, but laptops/tablets definitely were, especially when the homework was a link to an online quiz/test etc. They were even encouraged to record things like science class demonstrations on their phones if they had smart phones! You can't put the genie back in the bottle.

Wow, the number of (presumed) adults on this thread who apparently have no sense of humour, ability to interpret contextual cues, or awareness of sarcasm is what's embarrassing - not the "stare at a wall" girl that they have the nerve to call "stupid" or "silly"!

It couldn't be more obvious that she was joking and taking the piss, right down to her little smirk.

The kids may be alright, after all... but are the adults?!

It feels like that because social media has become the default. Boredom is very productive for finding meaningful things to do with your time.

I daresay growing up in the 90s wasn't better, I don't think, just different. Nostalgia has a large part to play in the whole 'good old days' argument.

I was coincidentally thinking about this earlier.
People have forgotten "how" to be bored.
(I include myself in this!)
You can find yourself endlessly and mindlessly scrolling.
Yes, the "olden days" pre smartphones may have been boring, but I think it's an important lesson that seems to have been lost.
Your brain wasn't constantly over stimulated, and you also had to think, and use your imagination more.
Perpetual stimulation and overload can't be good for any of us in the long run.