'DOOM SCROLLING': Teen attention spans SHRINK from screentime habit — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Protesters once again taking over the
2. 0:01streets of France today. Yeah, they're
3. 0:04demanding more funds and resources for
4. 0:06schools. Mary Julia Cook is with us this
5. 0:08morning. Mary Julia, good to see you on
6. 0:10the show today. Do you see parallels
7. 0:12between the protest in France and the
8. 0:14campus protest over here?
9. 0:16>> So, I think in both cases what seemed
10. 0:18like organic student led movements were
11. 0:21seized upon by outside far left groups
12. 0:23seeking to enact their own political
13. 0:25agenda. So, in the case of France, you
14. 0:27have Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of
15. 0:28the France Indomitable party, who is an
16. 0:30avowed anti-capitalist. He says he wants
17. 0:32to enact a citizens' revolution across
18. 0:34the country, and he's encouraging
19. 0:36students to keep protesting because he
20. 0:38wants the votes of these young
21. 0:39revolutionaries. And then with the
22. 0:41pro-Palestinian protests, you have these
23. 0:43outside agitators, many of whom weren't
24. 0:45students, who seized upon the moment to
25. 0:47position the war in Gaza as part of a
26. 0:49broader struggle for freedom and against
27. 0:51colonialism.
28. 0:52>> Both both elements of protest in Paris
29. 0:55and in in America,
30. 0:57this is coming from the left.
31. 0:59>> Right.
32. 1:00>> is creating this.
33. 1:01>> Against capitalism, against sort of
34. 1:03democracy. That is the broader agenda
35. 1:05that unites them. I will say the scale
36. 1:06in France is much more destructive. It's
37. 1:08250,000 people right now, both union
38. 1:10activists and high schoolers who are
39. 1:12protesting. They're burning down
40. 1:13schools, they're assaulting teachers,
41. 1:15and it doesn't seem to be slowing down.
42. 1:16>> also anti-Israel. That's a big part of
43. 1:20these protests, there and here.
44. 1:22>> Yes, that is that is the unifying
45. 1:23thread, absolutely. And I also think
46. 1:25protest is deeply ingrained in the
47. 1:27culture of, you know, being a young
48. 1:28person, and also being French. If you
49. 1:30remember, they
50. 1:31they protested when the retirement age
51. 1:33was raised from 62 to 64 a couple years
52. 1:35ago, so it's it's part of the culture.
53. 1:37>> You know that this these protests may
54. 1:39open the door to Marine Le Pen,
55. 1:42sort of a conservative politician.
56. 1:44There's going to be an election in the
57. 1:45spring for a new president of France,
58. 1:46and she may win. Do you know that she's
59. 1:48pushing for a lowering of the retirement
60. 1:51age? She wants to bring it down to 60.
61. 1:53Can you imagine this?
62. 1:54>> I mean, that's
63. 1:55>> How on earth do you afford that?
64. 1:56>> The The The French would love it
65. 1:57presumably.
66. 1:58>> [laughter]
67. 1:59>> But uh we'll we'll see. I mean I think
68. 2:01that the case that this is helping uh
69. 2:04the the far left Indomitable Party is
70. 2:06unclear because I think if anything
71. 2:08people might want some stability after
72. 2:10all this chaos.
73. 2:11>> [laughter]
74. 2:12>> All right, take a look at this chart.
75. 2:13It's from The Wall Street Journal. Teens
76. 2:15who can't put down TikTok and Instagram
77. 2:17are losing their sense of time. Come
78. 2:20Mary Julia. And I need someone as young
79. 2:22as you to explain this to me. How are
80. 2:23you losing your sense of time?
81. 2:26>> Yeah, so this is a study out of China of
82. 2:271,500 school children and they found
83. 2:29that the more people scrolled, not only
84. 2:31were they addicted to the screen and
85. 2:33unable to put it down, but they also
86. 2:35struggled to plan for the future. And I
87. 2:37think it's it's this instantaneous
88. 2:39gratification that you get from the
89. 2:40dopamine rush of scrolling that makes it
90. 2:42harder to do things that aren't as
91. 2:43rewarding right away like doing your
92. 2:45homework, focusing on school, things
93. 2:47that aren't fun, you know, off the bat,
94. 2:49but are important to understanding the
95. 2:51value of hard work, to being a
96. 2:52successful student, a successful adult.
97. 2:54And also remember that your prefrontal
98. 2:56cortex, which is responsible for
99. 2:57reasoning and planning, uh is not fully
100. 3:00developed until you're 25. So mine is
101. 3:01finally developed now, but you know,
102. 3:03unfortunately, I think these are
103. 3:05critical years and young people are are
104. 3:07wasting them and not developing many of
105. 3:09the the skill sets you need to be
106. 3:10>> Now you see you're you're looking at
107. 3:12these youngsters
108. 3:13>> These youngsters
109. 3:14>> You do it You do it just like me.
110. 3:15>> Oh, I was one of them, too.
111. 3:17>> [laughter]
112. 3:18>> I've got another one for you. A new
113. 3:19study, there's countless new studies, it
114. 3:21claims that Gen Z youngsters are
115. 3:23skipping the American dream of owning a
116. 3:26home and choosing to spend their money
117. 3:28on vacations instead. Mary Julia, I'm
118. 3:31not buying that.
119. 3:32>> I think social media bears all
120. 3:34responsibility here because when you're
121. 3:35looking at footage of beautiful
122. 3:37vacations and destinations, it becomes
123. 3:39this unrealistic expectation for a lot
124. 3:41of young people that that's how you
125. 3:42should be spending your 20s. Many of
126. 3:44these trips that influencers are going
127. 3:46on are paid for by sponsored brands. So
128. 3:49they're not disclosing it, but they're
129. 3:50not technically uh you know, paying for
130. 3:52those trips. And I think it's
131. 3:54unfortunate because young people, nearly
132. 3:5550% of them are living at home right
133. 3:57now, unable to attain the American dream
134. 3:59of of building your own home, of
135. 4:01building a family. And you compare that
136. 4:03to a couple generations ago, it's
137. 4:05totally different.
138. 4:06>> Yeah, it is very different. That's true.
139. 4:0750% of kids
140. 4:09>> It's a record high.
141. 4:10>> between in between in their 20s
142. 4:12>> are unable to attain that traditional
143. 4:14benchmark of adulthood. And instead
144. 4:17their priority is on travel, which uh
145. 4:18maybe should be pushed later.
146. 4:20>> Well, well, where does all this study
147. 4:21come from? I mean, we they're not buying
148. 4:23a home, they're going on vacations. Who
149. 4:25says?
150. 4:26Who says that? Is it you?
151. 4:27>> These are this what the data is saying.
152. 4:29I mean, but it's it's because of what
153. 4:31they're watching online and and sort of
154. 4:32what they're aspiring to achieve at a
155. 4:34young age. Um and I think, you know,
156. 4:36it's funny cuz the American dream now
157. 4:38includes leaving America to go on a
158. 4:39trip.
159. 4:40>> Okay, I want to bring Madison into this.
160. 4:41She's she's a youngster as well. Did you
161. 4:44get the impression that people like my
162. 4:46age often just look down on Gen Z and
163. 4:48find all the faults in this young
164. 4:50generation?
165. 4:50>> but that's not new. I think every
166. 4:52generation has done that. I do think the
167. 4:54priorities of the younger generation
168. 4:55have changed and I do agree I think
169. 4:57social media has many benefits of
170. 4:58connecting people, but there's this
171. 5:00constant comparison and it is a glossy
172. 5:03film of what is actually happening. No
173. 5:05one actually goes on vacation that often
174. 5:07spends that much, but you're given this
175. 5:08impression that that's what you need to
176. 5:10do to be successful. I think the
177. 5:11American dream is about how am I
178. 5:13successful? That used to be buying the
179. 5:15house, having the kids and having a
180. 5:16stable job. Now being successful is
181. 5:19going to Europe every summer, going on
182. 5:21these trips, going out to dinner. But I
183. 5:23think we're selling our kids short and
184. 5:25we're setting up unrealistic
185. 5:26expectations because it is true, 50% of
186. 5:29those under the age of 30 are living at
187. 5:31home and instead of saving for a
188. 5:33mortgage, they're going on vacation. I
189. 5:34think the stat is something like 45% of
190. 5:37Gen Z'ers regularly take impromptu
191. 5:39trips. Meaning like they're spending on
192. 5:41a random weekend instead of saving. I do
193. 5:44think when you feel like you can't
194. 5:45attain the American dream and it you
195. 5:47can't afford the house, why not go on
196. 5:49that vacation?
197. 5:51Um, and it's also never been easier
198. 5:52because of the internet booking. You
199. 5:54don't need a travel agent. I can book a
200. 5:56trip right now.
201. 5:57>> If I said that these days the trick to
202. 6:00getting into the American dream, to
203. 6:02owning a home, rests largely on having
204. 6:04rich parents, would that be accurate?
205. 6:06>> that's
206. 6:06>> Yeah.
207. 6:07>> That's horrible. That's depressing.
208. 6:09>> No, I think the American dream should
209. 6:10should should focus on your own ability
210. 6:13to create something of value for
211. 6:15yourself. Relationships, a job, a
212. 6:17business. Income, et cetera.
213. 6:19>> And one one final like more positive
214. 6:21note, it could also be that we've never
215. 6:24had more mobility in jobs. So, yes, I
216. 6:27can't explain the kids living at home
217. 6:2850%, but I know for myself, like I lived
218. 6:31in Florida, then I lived here. When you
219. 6:33own a home, you want to make sure you're
220. 6:34investing for a number of years. I don't
221. 6:36really trust New York City. I don't want
222. 6:38to buy here, but I'm saving and doing
223. 6:40stuff for retirement that, you know, my
224. 6:42parents weren't doing when they were my
225. 6:43age.
226. 6:43>> Last word to our guest, Mary Julia
227. 6:45>> And also to add to that, putting down
228. 6:47the phone in the constant scrolling and
229. 6:49doing the homework and the hard work
230. 6:51that we were speaking about earlier.
231. 6:52That's never been more important.
232. 6:53>> Okay, you brought it up.
233. 6:54>> struggle with that.
234. 6:55>> [laughter]
235. 6:56>> I'm wrong, you're right.
236. 6:57>> Very kind.
237. 6:58>> Mary Julia Kelly, thank you very much
238. 6:59indeed. Make sure to like and subscribe
239. 7:02to the latest news on Fox Business on
240. 7:04YouTube, and you can catch full shows
241. 7:06streaming now on Fox One.