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Teens (especially young ones and preteens) who have access to social media don't have the mental capacity to only view it as a tool. It's part of their life, everyday from sun up to sun down. Maybe for you it's a tool, but for many youngsters it's much more than that. And it's ruining lives.
Agree with you on this topic. It's one of the few areas where I find myself agreeing with Republicans (who seem to be more likely to introduce legislation banning social media use before age X)
You don't think your desire to change played some subconscious role in whatever it was you experienced at that non-denominational Christian church?
I was religious for the first 18 years of my life (and genuinely so, not just nominally), so I've experienced belief and all that it offers. Quite honestly, I was happier as a believer than I have been in my 19 years as an atheist. Now, correlation not equaling causation is statistics 101, but I would say that losing faith caused me anxiety that had lasting, permanent-as-of-now psychological effects. That said, intellectual honesty is not about believing what we wish were true, it's about what the evidence, or lack thereof, dictates.
One time a couple summers ago, a Muslim recent college grad stopped me in a local park and asked if I'd be interested in discussing personal beliefs about the existence of god. He had a camera set up on a tripod nearby; he planned on filming the conversation and putting it on YouTube. We talked for about an hour, half of which was successfully recorded. I forget a lot of what was said, but one thing I remember telling him is that I'm an empiricist. Which I am, but I've never declared that 'in real life' before or since. There's going to have to be compelling proof for me to believe something. If I do believe in something with inadequate supporting evidence, I want that inadequacy to be pointed out, demonstrated if I'm for whatever reason blind to it. I've been this way ever since I chose to major in philosophy in college, and it's how I'll remain for the rest of my (lucid) life.
Believing in god is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, with such a mindset.
Now, granted, there have been a few cases in physics where theoretical knowledge has preceded observation. The Higgs boson is the most famous case. It was known to be necessary to exist, but for a while it wasn't directly observed. These rare exceptions serve to prove the empiricism rule--the scientists at the Large Hadron Collider still wanted empirical proof, even though the Higgs boson's existence was 'known' beforehand
I think we have free will. So yes, I think it was a combination of both.
Religion is about so much more than just your belief in God. It's about being involved in community with people who share the same beliefs and values. It's incredibly welcoming (at least my church is), we have people of all ages, races, etc. I think this is one of the most overlooked aspects of being religious. I constantly read articles lately about how isolating and lonely life has become. True friends are hard to come by. Everyone is so self-consumed.
I have made life long friends at church. We see each other weekly. Have get-togethers with our families. And we all share the same values and outlook on life. It's such an amazing experience.
Agree with you on this topic. It's one of the few areas where I find myself agreeing with Republicans (who seem to be more likely to introduce legislation banning social media use before age X)
Not a republican, though. Libertarian who is voting for RFK Jr. How's that for blowing your mind?
Not a republican, though. Libertarian who is voting for RFK Jr. How's that for blowing your mind?
Wasn't saying you were, as I know nothing about you beyond what you've shared in the thread. I was just speaking generally; wasn't intended to be personal
Teens (especially young ones and preteens) who have access to social media don't have the mental capacity to only view it as a tool. It's part of their life, everyday from sun up to sun down. Maybe for you it's a tool, but for many youngsters it's much more than that. And it's ruining lives.
IDK that I'd limit it to ruining the lives of youngsters. Famously, the guy who used to work for FaceBook who invented the "Like" regrets that so much that he's devoted his life to explaining why. Every "like" is a tiny, addictive little dopamine "hit". He believes it is rewiring people's brains on a massive scale, based on subsequent research. Making them more impulsive, passive, docile, etc.
Retirees often have more time on their hands, especially mid-week. It also gets harder to make new friends, especially after relocation to a new area. Going to some type of religious service can sometimes provide instant community with people that share something in common. My Hindu friends have become more involved at the Yoga/Hindu temple/center, my Christian friends have become more involved with their various churches, and so forth.
Retirees often have more time on their hands, especially mid-week. It also gets harder to make new friends, especially after relocation to a new area. Going to some type of religious service can sometimes provide instant community with people that share something in common. My Hindu friends have become more involved at the Yoga/Hindu temple/center, my Christian friends have become more involved with their various churches, and so forth.
Someone or other around here suggested I might be interested in the "compassion course". My wife and I decide to sign up for it today (compassioncourse.org). It's one of the alternate ways to meet like minded people in an ideologically neutral fashion that transcends politics or religion (mostly, although I doubt the politically or religiously conservative would be very likely to get very far embracing "non-violent communication" once they understood that it would challenge too many of their cherished assumptions).
My point being, that as you age, you become more frail and have more of a need to circle the wagons and have a protective community around you. That comes baked into many religious practices, but if those aren't working for you, it's necessary to find various alternatives, and they DO exist.
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