This Goes So Much Deeper Than "Gen Alpha Can't Read"
00:00 A couple days ago, CBS News ran a story about a 13-year-old boy who's about to graduate from university and pursue his masters at NYU. And then someone else responded to the story and got almost as many likes, saying, "These child prodigies almost always end up as regular people. They just get ahead much
00:19 earlier. They plateau in their teens and become ordinary people almost every single time. So, good luck, kid. But it's almost certainly not an exponential growth thing. You'll slow down when you're 15 and everyone else will catch up while you had no childhood. Obviously, not every Gen Alpha is as
00:36 smart as this kid is, but I honestly think they have a similar experience. From a very early age, everything a Gen Alpha kid does in school is regarded very highly. Standards are so low that if you can spell your name at like age 10, you'll become validictorian. School comes easy to these kids because they're
00:55 all using chat GBT for assignments. And just like school is easy for a child prodigy, school is easy if you use AI for all your work. So since this prodigy and all of Jan Alpha are equally unchallenged in the public school system, the difference is this prodigy is leaving the public school system to
01:12 go to college. So he might end up all right. But when school is so easy and there is nothing difficult for any of these kids and they just get passed along to the next grade no matter how much they fail. They basically have the same experience as a prodigy trapped in school. Not because they're too smart
01:25 for the material, but because they don't have to do any of the material. So imagine now if you had all these child prodigies throughout history and you forced them to go through like regular first grade, like they wouldn't learn anything. They wouldn't develop. And that's what we're having with these kids
01:37 now. They're not learning anything because we don't make them. So Jan Alpha doesn't know why they're in school. Well, they just show up for a few hours and they go to the next grade. That's what they're told to do. So, I've made a lot of videos explaining that Gen Alpha can't read. But, I think there's
01:49 something even more fundamental that we need to talk about. Jen Alpha doesn't want to read because Gen Alpha doesn't want to do anything. Jen Alpha doesn't care about anything. So, if we're talking about Gen Alpha not being able to read, we're already way too downstream of the real problem.
02:05 complaining that Jana alpha can't read is like complaining someone in chemotherapy can't grow a mohawk. Yeah, that's definitely a problem, but it's fundamentally caused by their cancer. And in the same way, Jana alpha isn't malnourished. They're not genetically inferior to previous generations.
02:20 They're capable of reading. They just don't want to. Because what is reading? In the case of non-fiction, it's a way for you to deeply understand the world. And in the case of fiction, it's a way for you to deeply get inside the heads of other people. But if the world has always been laid out for you, if adults
02:35 have always intervened to make sure nothing is ever hard for you, then doing something really hard like learning how to read for the reward of deep knowledge about the world doesn't seem as rewarding as scrolling on YouTube reels. Doing anything doesn't sound as rewarding as YouTube shorts. I used to
02:49 lament how anyone successful at something that I really liked would get criticism while people who didn't do anything didn't get criticism and that was so unfair. We should be encouraging the people who make art or things that we really like. But then I realized I have it completely backwards. Criticism,
03:04 getting resistance is what helps you become even better. And I actually realized this because of Gen Alpha. I realized, wait, Jen Alpha has faced less resistance than any other generation in history. And they're doing worse than any generation in history. Facing obstacles forces you to become crafty.
03:19 It forces you to be resourceful. Think about the early Marvel movies with limited budgets. They had to prove themselves, and they became some of the greatest superhero movies ever made. Now think about the modern Marvel movies with these huge budgets and brand recognition. They can't even break even
03:34 because they have no resistance that forces them to be better. I mean this is also the story of Star Wars, right? Everyone loves the original trilogy which had a much smaller budget than the later movies. And then when George Lucas got hundreds of millions of dollars to make movies exactly the way he wanted,
03:46 they were received much more coldly. In fact, we all know when someone is subject to no criticism, like a celebrity or someone who isolates themselves like Howard Hughes, that's when they go insane. In the words of Will Durant, for every hundred new ideas you come up with, 99 of them are going
04:02 to be wrong. So, we need to have friends and critics to help us realize where we go wrong. Like, this is a funny example, but I'm grateful to you guys because someone pointed out I misused a word. I said, "My friend got really angry, so he became sultry." When I meant he became sullen. If he became sultry, we would
04:19 have started dating. I'm [laughter] reading the comments. You guys did not spare me. Someone said, "Really? Sultry is wild. Is English your first language?" I think you meant soul. Sultry means they tried to seduce you. I [laughter] think you meant sullen. Although the idea of your friend
04:36 becoming sultry when [laughter] you ask him to pick him up at the airport, is a funny image. Yeah. Someone commented, "This makes me think Casey used AI." And someone responded, "THIS MAKES ME THINK CASEY didn't use AI." [laughter] Guys, the next time I try to use like a multi-elabic word, the stakes are high
04:53 because if I misuse it, LIKE YOU GUYS ARE READY. You guys are ready. So, I want you for one moment to pretend you have no connotations about Gen Alpha. And imagine I just tell you, I'm going to raise the next generation with no responsibilities and I'll guarantee that they graduate every grade no matter how
05:11 badly they perform in school. I'll give them this incredible device to do all their schoolwork for them and they won't feel like they're cheating because all their classmates are using that same device. And then I'll also take away all the time that they spend with friends and replace it with doom scrolling and
05:24 maybe roadblocks if they're really sophisticated. And then I'm also going to make sure they grow up in a time of relative prosperity where there's no war for them to fight against or no cause to stand behind all while they're reading that the world is getting worse in a million different ways because they're
05:37 keeping up with the news every morning. I'll also make sure the most famous people in their generation are vapid. They're not going to look up to philosophers or thinkers. They're going to look up to influencers. Influencers so stupid. I bet they don't even know what sultry means. And then I ask you,
05:53 how do you think that generation will turn out? Well, if [snorts] how we raise kids means anything, then we should have no surprise at Gen Alpha's state today. This is exactly what we orchestrated. So, we're all wondering, why can't Jen Alpha read? Well, why can't our cancer patients grow hair? The disease goes
06:11 much deeper. And I really think I actually am excited about this. People are starting to catch on because while I used to see so many videos of teachers lamenting that none of their students can read, now I'm seeing teachers realize the deeper problem that these kids just don't care. They don't want to
06:25 learn to read. They don't want to watch a movie. They don't want to make friends if they can doom scroll instead. They just don't care about life. >> When I asked her what has been changing for her, she said it's student apathy. I have seen teacher after teacher after teacher after teacher come on to Tik Tok
06:40 and vent their grievances about how their students are just not working the way that students used to work. And as a teacher, I fully understand. I fully get it. These kids don't want to do work anymore. They just don't want to learn. They don't want to put in the work. They
06:58 don't want to do their assignments. They don't want to do their homework. Have you stopped to ask why the adults in the room put the country into a global pandemic and told the kids deal with it? The adults in the room created the internet and social media and now these kids have
07:17 to live with it from the moment they are born. They see in full color HD every single day how the adults are screwing up the world and not making it a better place and all the bad things that are going on across the world. You expect them to care about algebra and English when they are constantly depressed and
07:37 worried. Give them a break. We are trying to apply educational standards from 10 years ago onto kids that are of a different generation of a COMPLETELY THEY'RE ON ANOTHER PLANET in terms of education and we are the ones that need to adapt not them. Right? These kids were never taught why they should care
07:59 about literature or history in the first place, but they are told all the time, listen to how bad things are in the world. Listen to this new global crisis. This is really urgent. This is important. So, we're simultaneously telling them, you should care about global politics, but you shouldn't care
08:13 about the causes of World War I because we never gave them a reason to. So, all these kids are doing is they're listening to us. They're bored when we teach them about Gavlo Princip, but they think every new global headline is an urgent crisis because we're telling them that, right? We're saying like,
08:26 "Breaking news, this is happening." But we're teaching them history in a very stodgy and boring way. And Gen Alpha's apathy has gotten so bad that teachers are rewarding students for just completing assignments. Like, if you get an assignment and you do it, you will get three pieces of candy and a standing
08:44 ovation from the school cuz the rest of the class doesn't do what they're assigned. >> So, I sent home a math practice. Okay? It was not a lot. It was a few pages of multiplication facts. So, I have teammates coming up to me and saying, "My mom threw it away. It's not your
09:00 mom's responsibility." I have people saying um that they forgot it. So, out of 30 teammates, two people finished it. Those two teammates get a 3second clap because they're amazing. And then you can come pick out two of these candy bars cuz that is how proud I am OF YOU. YAY.
09:22 SO NOW I want to ask you something. If you could only guarantee that your kid would have one of the following three traits, what would you choose? That they're successful, that they're intelligent, or that they are passionate, or just the opposite of apathetic? I think a lot of people would
09:35 choose successful. I think a lot more would choose intelligent, but for me, there's no question that it would be passionate. I know a lot of unhappy, successful people, and the same with intelligence. But if you're passionate, you care about life. That's like the point of life. And from that, you're
09:49 likely to want to learn how to read and to want to become successful because you're actually because life actually means something to you. And that's what we've robbed of a whole generation. I think we've sort of gone through the whole cycle for the last half century. In the '60s, students were very
10:03 passionate. There were so many protests and free love and new ways of thinking. Timothy Liry said, "Turn on, tune in, and drop out." Then fast forward to the 80s, people are very successful, even if they're not as passionate. And then you fast forward to today and you don't have the intelligence. You don't have the
10:16 success because you don't have that root of passion. If you don't care about anything, why would you care about being intelligent or successful? So in the 60s, you had intelligence and passion but not success. In the 80s, you had success and intelligence but no passion. Then Gen Z was the first generation with
10:33 no child left behind, the first generation with really lacks educational standards, and consequently the first generation in modern history where IQ's went down. So we suddenly lost intelligence, too. And that brings us to Gen Alpha, which as a whole lacks the drive for success or intelligence
10:47 because they don't have any passion. When the root of passion is severed, the other two things don't become important. If you don't, if you're apathetic towards life, you're going to be apathetic to becoming intelligent or successful. And it's on us adults for taking away any chances these kids had
11:00 to become passionate or have fun in life, including economically. I was asking my sixth graders today what they do for fun and pretty much they were telling me that they just sit at home and play on their iPads or play video games like Roblox and I was like why don't you like go out and do things like
11:15 why don't you go to the movies and it led me to an awful horrible terrible realization which is that they were like well that's too expensive and I looked it up and I saw that the average price of a movie ticket in the United States today is $16.35 whereas when I was as a kid it was
11:33 $6.55. That $6.55 adjusted for inflation would be $10.85 today. Which means the price of a movie ticket has been artificially inflated by over 50%. These kids who grew up exactly the same way that I grew up have fewer opportunities than I had. The only people that benefit from that
11:54 kind of thing are super rich people because now they get to go to these things and they don't have to be around poor people anymore. Everybody's always like, "Oh, but the kids, but the kids." We have priced kids out of doing anything for fun and caused them to become addicted to their screens.
12:09 >> Someone said, "Don't get me started on bowling." I'm not going to lie. I haven't checked bowling prices in a while. I paid $140 for four people for two rounds. What? That used to be a year's salary in this country. Okay, MAYBE IN LIKE 1900, BUT STILL. And a recent study examined what
12:28 actually happens in your brain when you doom scroll. And if this is what happens in an adult's brain, imagine what happens when you're four. >> A recent study from Harvard just came out explaining why doom scrolling is slowly killing our brains. The behavior of doom scrolling is rooted in our
12:42 brain's lyic system, which is dominated by the amygdala. The amydala deals with memory, emotion, and also receives dopamine hits, which is why you feel addicted to scrolling or like you always have to reach for your phone. This is super harmful though and produces what a Harvard doctor calls popcorn brain which
12:58 makes the world slow and boring and depressing because we're used to the over stimulation and popping of social media. [laughter] >> Someone commented, "Sorry, I doom scrolled past this. My iPhone is like a cigarette." And that analogy is spot on because the younger generation knows how
13:12 bad your phone is for you just like the younger generation of 50 years ago knew how bad cigarettes were for you. All while in both cases, the older generation said, "Don't worry, they're fine. It's [music] just a cigarette and it cannot be that bad. >> Oh, for sake.
13:30 Go away. off. But that's really a double-edged sword because if you know your phone is bad for you and you do it anyway, it becomes even worse for you. If you know your iPhone is killing your brain and you say you want to stop, but you do it anyway, you're reinforcing to
13:46 yourself that you're not someone who does what you say you'll do. And that slowly seeps into every part of who you are. Eventually, you'll feel like you're incapable of success. You're incapable of doing something hard because every single day you do something that you say you won't. And that erodess all of your
14:03 self-respect. And if you don't respect yourself, then no one else will respect you either. And when you look around and see no one else respects you, you'll respect yourself even less. And when you have no self-respect, you'll have no reason to do anything but doom scroll. And the cycle repeats. And a lot of
14:17 people are caught in that cycle. and living lives of spiritual desolation when they could have had glorious careers and families and friends in the real world. But we robbed that from them. So thankfully some good parents on TikTok are deciding I'm not going to let this happen anymore. I'm going to give
14:34 my kids agency and responsibility young >> scoop at um strawberry ice. What's the options that you um you had? >> Gummy bears, sprinkles. >> I do gummy bears. >> You said chocolate chip ice cream. >> No, I said strawberry.
14:55 >> Strawberry. >> Have a spoon, too, please. >> [screaming] >> There you go. >> Instead of what we have now, which is kids like doing one assignment ever and then being like, I graduated and George W. Bush being like, yeah, you did. Oh,
15:17 sorry. Let me add a little Texas. Congratulations to uh Jen Alpha on uh learning absolutely nothing. You're welcome. >> I did it. Yes, you did. [screaming] >> And so teachers have become superfluous. Are you guys impressed that I said
15:39 superfluous and not sultry? [laughter] Guys, teachers have become sultry. I'm I'm telling you, if school is just babysitting and it doesn't matter how bad a kid does, they'll just pass him along to the next grade. Well, then if a teacher actually tries to teach, they become an obstacle to the system. So,
15:55 every time a teacher tries to take initiative to make learning fun for their kids, it ends like this. >> I have only been teaching for 2 years and it feels like it's been 30. I feel like a retired detective in a crime movie. Like, I'm getting way too old for this.
16:09 >> Look at the statistics of teachers who have left. And it's not just new teachers. So, you can't just blame it on my generation. It is teachers who have been there for 20 years and they leave before they actually get their retirement because it's so crazy. You hear teachers talking about teaching and
16:23 they sound like they've lived through a war. Like, yeah, back in 2023, we lost a lot of good teachers. And it's like, is the classroom really that bad? Yes. You can watch a kid's brain buffering in 2026. It's like, all right, I want you to write on your paper. What paper? The paper that you're literally holding in
16:41 your hand that I just gave you. Oh, you you ripped it up. Okay. >> And so, it's on parents to make sure kids aren't apathetic when they arrive in the classroom. And so if we're serious about giving kids a little more responsibility, a little more autonomy younger, we should all be okay with
16:55 seeing kids in real life. I mean, as long as they're, you know, somewhat well behaved. To the mom who rolled her eyes at me because I wasn't making my kid sit still in a chair. Do you realize your 5-year-old was on her phone watching YouTube the entire time? And so I'm happy to deal with a kid, you know,
17:10 walking around a little bit as long as he's generally respectful. if that helps retain hero devivve. [music] Thought that video advocating kids can be bored is a good thing, but you'll always have people critiquing you, which I mentioned at the beginning of this
17:28 video is a good thing. Someone said, "My parents did this. Let me be bored." And I developed maladaptive daydreaming and mental issues. Well, okay. But I'm more with this comment who said, "That's where imagination is born. That's where creativity forms. What is maladaptive daydreaming? Like your daydreams are
17:46 bad. A genpha just goes, "Oh, I had the worst daydream. I was getting shot by Gabrielo Princip." If a Gen Alpha said that, I'd be like, "You know what? I'm glad you're learning a little bit of history." [music] Very odd, but at least these kids are
18:05 having fun. Someone commented AD and HD Tom and foolery. But this is even better. >> Did you guys build this? >> Yeah. >> Wow. >> That is awesome. Mom, Phineas and Fur are building a playground in our
18:21 backyard. And giving your kids autonomy to build, you know, seesaws makes your life as a parent much easier, too. >> In case you're wondering, this is what having an independent baby looks like. I'm here in the kitchen all by myself. No one in the living room.
18:42 [clears throat] I just emptied the dishwasher, did the dishes, hand wash some of her clean sippies, and I'll show you where my independent baby is. >> Hi, sweetie. You having a good time in your playroom?
19:09 >> You want to tell mama what you're doing? >> Let's see. We have some Libros. We have some books. Mhm. I guess I'll just interrupt her play session. >> Initially, kids will always ask for help, even with the simplest tasks,
19:30 because it's easier in the short term. But in the long term, teach a man to fish. >> Parenting 101. Don't do it for them. Make them figure it out. >> Get in there. >> I climbed over the fish. >> So climb out.
19:44 >> I can't. >> Why not? >> Because >> Cuz why? >> Because >> Because And an answer. Why can't you climb out? >> I don't know.
19:55 >> Climb. >> No. >> Just like you did when you got in there. Climb over it. >> No. Well, then I guess you're stuck. >> Am I going to be here for 2 years? >> That depends on if you have if you climb
20:06 out. You climbed in there. So, climb out. >> Come on. You got it. That fence ain't going nowhere. >> Nope. Keep going. >> I'm stuck. >> What are you stuck on? The final attempt.
20:29 This one's a little shaky. >> It's not going anywhere, though. Just because it's shaky. You got it. Keep going. Get your foot. Get your foot where you need it. There you go. There you go. That leg over. See? Was that so hard? I didn't think so.
20:50 >> Someone commented, "You can tell the mom is a completely different parenting style." And someone added, "This is gentle parenting. No beating, no insults. He was patient and supportive of his little boy. Good job. But it was funny when he was like, "Am I going to be here for 2 years?" But sadly, in some
21:06 corners of this country, I'm sure that dad could be arrested. There are some crazy news stories of parents just like letting their kid walk home from school or like buying a yam and getting the police called on them. >> We really need to figure out why kids are so incapable these days. Did you see
21:22 that news article of the mom that they just arrested because her kids were walking to the park by themselves without an adult? Yeah, there's crazy people out here. She should spend her life in jail. And you don't see the correlation here? That's so true. People will like support arresting parents who
21:36 give their kids the slightest autonomy and then wonder why kids are so helpless. That's like building your house next to a volcano and then wondering why there's lava in the living room. Kids have become so cynical that they get mad whenever their teachers aren't. I went, "Hey everybody, I'm so
21:53 glad you're here. Happy Tuesday. Um, read the board. Please get started. I'm so happy to see you. I've really missed you." And I'm I'm peppy. I'm happy. I'm I've got like the full cheerleader like these are my kids. Miss P, you're doing too much. Yeah, because you're not doing enough. And then this is me hooping and
22:15 hollering. I'm like, "All right, everybody. We're struggling. I can tell we we need some extra help. Why don't everybody stand up right now? We're going to walk around, talk to each other, brainstorm ideas so that if you are having a hard time writing the story on your head and you're like stuck on a
22:30 part, you can ask somebody else to help you. You know, I ain't doing that. Okay. Well, I really appreciate how so and so is doing it. So, let's let's keep going. Would you like some assistance over here anyway? No. Where's my snack at?
22:51 Well, actually, you're not going to get your snag until you do what you're supposed to. Um, and that that's basically every day. I I I mean, I can come in here in a bad mood and snippy and say, "Sit down. Get up. We're walking around. This is what we're doing. This is how we're doing it." And
23:05 I get the same outcome. And they'll be like, "Miss Payne, why are you doing too much? You're always in a bad mood." >> Can I tell you the worst feeling as a teacher? This, to me, stands above the low teacher pay. It stands above the low bathroom breaks. I think it even stands above state testing and it happened
23:22 today in my classes. It's absolutely busting your butt for an assignment thinking that it's going to kill for the students and the students ruin it. I'm not talking about like a worksheet and the kids didn't enjoy the worksheet. I'm talking about like an activity, a whole lesson where all they got to do is
23:40 participate and try their best and they can't do that. Like I don't think these kids realize how discouraging it is. Like I could easily go to AI. I could go to AI and say, "Hey, type up a three-page packet with all written response questions for my students." And AI would give me that. No. No. But when
24:01 a teacher, god forbid, tries his best and makes an assignment that, you know what, I would have enjoyed when I was a kid and I try my best and then kids just I bet if it was a YouTube video, they'd love it or a Tik Tok video, I bet they'd kill it. >> Yeah. And teachers are realizing that
24:18 when they make engaging lessons for kids to become competent readers, they get punished. And so they're like, "Okay, you know what? Why don't I just give these kids AI generated worksheets?" And that's sad because kids need thoughtful educators and teachers who can give them individual attention. I mean, you know,
24:33 even babies can be unpredictable. The baby has cried off and on for 10 hours. I have tried everything to soo him. Then I turned on mechanic sounds on YouTube and he instantly stopped. Like what? I'm with this comment. I really want to know the process of elimination it took to reach mechanic sounds. The baby's like,
24:50 "Oh, sounds like they'll need a new transmission." I can't lie. Like a big part of this whole Jen Alpha thing is sometimes kids only do the opposite of what they're told. >> Can I brush your hair? >> Why? >> It's kind of messy.
25:02 >> No, it's not. >> Can I please brush it? >> No. >> All right. I can't brush your hair. I'm sorry. >> Okay. >> Can't brush my hair. >> I can't brush your hair today. I'm
25:12 sorry. >> Okay. >> Yeah, I said okay. >> No brushing hair. >> Okay. >> You can only brush my hair. >> Yeah. Why? Because I can't brush your hair
25:24 today. Sorry. But >> why? >> Because >> I I really want to brush it. >> No. >> No. I really want to. >> All right, I'll make an exception.
25:33 >> Damn, it [music] feels good to be in pain. >> People fight what they're told but never doubt what they conclude, which helps my whole thesis here even more. If Jen Alpha gets responsibility and agency where they have an interest in reading and they want to read and it becomes
25:45 somewhat self-directed, then they will. But if they're given every reason not to read and every form of simulation outside of reading and then an adult rags their fingers and says, "Hey kid, you should learn to read." Of course they won't want to. So since it's become so rare, I am grateful whenever I see
25:59 kids doing crazy pranks. [music] Someone said it's the box trolls, literally. So [laughter] parents are realizing this and letting their kids get creative and play even if they get messy. >> Don't play with me. [music] Don't put your hand in.
26:20 [music] Oh, [music] Someone said this also strengthens their immune system. Which reminds me of George Carlin saying he would never get sick because as a kid he gave his immune system a lot of practice. In my
26:38 neighborhood, no one ever got polio. No one ever. You know why? Cuz we swam in raw sewage. That's a little intense. >> I don't think parents understand how many kids are out there who are just like refusing to do anything in class. Like, could you imagine being a 12-year-old and coming to school and
26:56 sitting through 7 hours of classes and just like not doing anything? Like, yeah, I'm supposed to ride in spare. I'm just not going to do it. I'm just going to sit here and stare off into the void. I'm not going to do it. Yeah, I don't care. My parents don't care. I don't care. Just not going to do it. Like, so
27:11 many kids are like that. This is what I'm talking about. Teachers are finally realizing it's not just that these kids can't read. It's it's that they don't want to do anything at all. >> Witnessed it again yesterday. A teacher standing outside the classroom crying because the students were so
27:26 unmanageable and so entitled and so insulting that it broke the teacher. This is the third time since August that I've seen this happen. >> Y'all not going to believe me, but the teachers are crying themselves home. They're crying because they actually care more than the child and their
27:40 parent. And so Gen Z sees that and we've decided we won't constantly praise our kids even when they're bad at something. We're going to tell them the truth so they can live in reality. >> Things I'm not going to allow my child to do and I don't give a If I find out you're being cringey on your phone,
27:55 don't let me find out you be asking the hoes why they showering without you. Give me your phone now. If you lack talent in a certain field, I'm not going to stop you from doing you. But I'm not going to lie to you either. I don't give a Like how parents show up to their kids' soccer games like, "Oh
28:08 my god, Jeffrey, you're doing so good and Jeffrey's ass." Like, I'm not gonna do that. >> Because if you really care about someone, you'll will their good, even if that means making them momentarily uncomfortable. In his essay about why he's not a pacifist, CS Lewis said, "If
28:21 I truly want what's good for you, if at the limit that means physically restraining you, then that's something that I should do, even if it temporarily makes you feel pain." That's the real question here. Do we actually want what's best for our kids? Are we willing to maybe impose short-term suffering so
28:38 they can become real human beings? Or do we only care about our kids liking us? Do we shrink anytime a kid expresses mild discomfort or boredom so we quickly run to make sure they feel okay because we don't want kids to get mad at us? Saw a video of a mom who was asking should she let her seventh grader get her nose
28:54 pierced. And the comments were pretty evenly split between yes and no. People who were saying yes were like, "It's just a piercing. What's the big deal? As long as she's responsible enough and takes care of it, who cares?" people are saying no or just saying that she was too young. As someone who did teach
29:07 middle and high school, I am someone who would also say no. I would say no. No, your seventh grader doesn't need her nose pierced. But the reason why is because we are giving kids nothing to look forward to. And I think it's so important for everyone, every human being to have things to look forward to
29:23 in their life. But especially kids, it is so important for them to have things that they can mark on a calendar that they know when I hit this age or when we get to this date or when we whatever, I get to have X, Y, and Z. Yeah, kids looking forward to milestones is a good thing. They shouldn't get everything
29:40 they want the moment they want it. Someone said, "Same for tattoos. Cut to senior year of high school and suddenly everyone has a full sleeve with a lion and a Bible quote." And a teacher added, "I saw several middle schoolers with tattoos and I was flabbergasted. Like these kids' parents are letting their
29:56 child permanently mark their body. There's enough regret when people get tattoos at 21, let alone 12." >> Things I won't let my girls do. Number one, we're not there yet, but I will not let my girls get in a car and go on a date with someone if I have not met them already. So, they need to like walk up
30:13 to the door, knock. Hi, my name is Joe and I'm taking our daughter on a date. I don't necessarily care the grades. Um, but there will be no missing assignments. So, everything must be turned in. Now, if you have certain grades, okay, obviously you're trying, you're turning in your work, you're
30:30 doing whatever, but missing assignments will be a no-go. Lastly, there will be no little animals. Like, no guinea pigs, no hamsters, no fishies, no whatever. We've tried that before. It ended terribly. There's only the family dogs. That's it. You aren't you ain't getting no hamster, no guinea pig, no crawly
30:49 poly toy. I don't even care if it's a fish cuz guess who has to take care of it? Me. >> Seems reasonable, especially compared to this. >> Yeah, well, I don't care about them for getting my ranch CUZ I CAN WALK in there and I told you I
31:04 can tell them they forgot my ranch. >> The direct, bold, careless nature about this child, the I can do what I want to attitude. I had that and the reason why I had that and the reason why she has that is because she lacks discipline and consequences that the adults in her life
31:22 were responsible for providing. We have to think about what we're doing as parents and the types of humans that we're raising and putting into this world because not everybody's going to take that little girl So, mom and dad, y'all might want to wake the up and start disciplining your child now
31:37 because when she steps into the real world with people who taught their kids not to tolerate that type of you're going to have some real problems. And I say that from experience. I myself was the one who was doing what she was doing. And I struggled. I didn't struggle in terms of always being in
31:53 trouble as an adult, but I struggled in terms of not having healthy relationships, not knowing how to treat people, people not knowing how to treat me, not being able to have healthy communication with people because nobody wanted to with me with that type of attitude. Someone said, "The only thing
32:06 I see is bad parenting. Not a bad kid." Yeah, virtually 100% of the time a kid is really badly behaved, it's because of their parents. I mean, this is why we obviously don't give 12-year-olds life without parole. I turned 21 in prison [singing and music] life without parole. No one could steer me right [singing]
32:24 but mama tried. >> We recognize the bad things they do are basically because of their parents. The real danger in giving your kid everything he asks for is that nothing comes hard to him. So when a kid has to do the hardest thing they can as a child, learn to read, they'll bail fast.
32:40 >> I had an 8-year-old ask me how to spell popcorn. Like mult like they were all confused. They were like, "How do we spell popcorn?" Like, bro, like you're 8 years old. Like, you should know how to spell popcorn by 8 years old. It's like appalling. It's really It's crazy. In the whole like the whole
32:51 class, they're like 67 67 baby. You have you have six seven brain cells left in your in your noggin. Okay, you need to focusing pick up a dictionary. Pick up six seven books. Pick up like But yeah, it's disheartening to say the least. Like, these are our future lawmakers and politicians. Like, you
33:05 don't know how to spell popcorn. Sound it out. >> Someone commented, "My 17-year-old sister didn't know pirates were [laughter] and are real." In her defense, I didn't realize ponies were real until way too old. I thought they were like unicorns. You know what?
33:18 Statistically speaking, enough people have this preconception and enough Gen Alphas watch these videos that I'm sure we just taught at least one Gen Alpha kid that pirates are real and another one that ponies are real. Sorry, guys. But this comment is much scarier. They said, "Hey pal, you're being a little
33:33 harsh for kids under 10." And the creator rightly rebuked them, saying, "Your mindset is why kids cannot read. If you think wanting kids to be able to read before they're teenagers is too harsh, you're the problem. Next thing this guy's going to respond, I just think it's irresponsible to expect kids
33:48 to be able to spell before they turn 25. Oh, you know, like, oh my gosh, [music] I know some people are cringing because this kid is wearing nice clothes, but someone said clothes can be washed. Memories stay forever. I'm [laughter] sorry. I'm [gasps] laughing because I
34:11 just thought about the Bill Maher segment from last video. Go follow Yogi Bear. [laughter] >> I saw that 40,000 Twitter followers unfollowed me like that. To which I say, "Good riddens. Follow Yogi Bear. >> Go [laughter] follow Yogi Bear." That was just so funny to me. It's still so
34:28 funny. All right, back to the video. This is how childhood should be. The whole world is fascinating and amazing to kids. It's like the GK Chesterton quote that an 8-year-old kid will be excited by a door because he thinks there's a dragon behind it, but a three-year-old kid will be excited
34:43 because it's a door. It's our fault if by the time a kid enters kindergarten, the wonder for things as simple as crossing your hands goes away. >> My baby learned how to cross his fingers and I'm trying to give him a Cheeto puff. He don't know how [laughter] to take his hands out.
34:59 Here. [clears throat] Here. [laughter] [gasps] Here. >> Someone said, "I love how babies be unlocking new skills but then don't know what to do next." >> I hear somebody saying, "Mom." So, I
35:15 look back in the quietest voice and this is what I see. What happened? How did What happened? That was true back and this is it. >> Wow. She really accepted her fate. She's like, "Let me demonstrate how I got here."
35:41 [screaming] >> All right. That's not how you start. >> Someone said, "Bro, really practicing his Monsters Inc. jump scare." He did sound just like Sully. >> That's ghetto. Bring that up here real quick. >> You bedazzled. Don't move back. His back
35:56 is back. >> A Vaseline jar. >> Yes, I did. >> And thought that this was You thought you ate with this? >> Hey. >> Hey. Do you plan on doing any work today?
36:07 >> Yeah. Just let me know cuz if not then I just I'm not even going to bother you. At least I know. First one. Who can guess it? Starts with the A. >> A. >> Well, yeah. >> Did you just grab snacks for me and then pull out a thing of pretzels from your
36:22 bag? [laughter] This teacher wrote the caption, "All my students want to do is eat." >> There is no group of people I feel worse for than the middle schoolers and high schoolers of this generation and those in the future. Cuz dude, have you seen all of the different gizmos and gadgets
36:38 these parents have access to now to snoop on their kids. is crazy, bro. When I was in high school, the only thing that they had that my graduating class was in like a beta test mode for was the ability to check on your grades online. But dude, now it's like Bruce Wayne said, "Fuck it. I don't want to be
36:54 Batman anymore." And he donated all of his high-tech spy equipment to regular parents. They got Air Tags now, which can clip on to kids backpacks and Your exact location down to the latitude and longitude is always being monitored. Cameras installed at houses now or HD, heat detection, all of it. They got
37:12 cameras inside of living rooms now, so you can't throw any more parties. They got apps that'll deactivate your kids' car if they sense anything suspicious. Basically, these parents can have their kids on lock if they want to. I just feel for them, man. These kids won't get to experience the dopest part
37:26 of growing up and being an adolescent and making stupid decisions that will forever shape who they end up growing up to be. Millennials got to do that and so did our parents and a good amount of Gen Z. But these alphas are on an Alcatraz level lockdown. All thanks to advances in modern technology. Maybe that's why
37:42 they're all iPad kids. Who knows? >> Yeah, >> man. I don't know what to do, but the kids are not all right. They are depressed and they can't read. Hm. What a mystery. Have we tried taking away third spaces? Yep. Making basic activities unaffordable? Yep.
37:55 Criminalizing them hanging out in those spaces they can't afford by calling it loitering? Yep. Unleashing generative AI at the palm of their hand at a young impressionable age? Yep. Taking away any hope for a sustainable and livable future? Yep. Tanking the economy so they have nothing to financially look forward
38:07 to in the prospect of any kind of career is absolutely moot. Yep. >> And the practical jokes they do still pull, I I don't know about. >> I don't [music] smoke up. No, I don't hate you. I got no love for the fake. [music] If you want to play tough and want to hate this, I'll always show up
38:23 and make a statement. I don't never slow up. No, I don't. Baby, you'll wow. Yeah. Okay. So, are the Gen Alphas, you know, as jaded and disinterested as Gen Alpha as a whole? I'll respond to as many comments as I can because I really want to know what you guys see in your real life. And thank you to our patrons who
38:42 make videos like this possible. If you're able to support on Patreon, we'll put the link in the description. I really appreciate all of you guys who do and we make videos and have discussions. It's a lot of fun. Welcome Tatum Lily, Brian O the Great, Cababe 41, and Big Dub Healey the
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