Teenagers with eco anxiety being driven to school.

Weltsmertz · 27-10-2019 01:15PM #1

Teenagers these days are fragile and easily upset.
One of the things that seems to upset them the most these days is climate change. It makes them anxious and they even have protests and strikes to admonish adults for their irresponsible behaviors that contribute.
However many Irish teenagers unlike children years ago or children in other countries can no longer walk or cycle to school.
The roads are dangerous, stranger danger, they might get cold, they might get wet and catch pneumonia, they might hurt their backs from carrying schoolbags etc
However are they not being hypocrites. If they are concerned about climate change should they not look at their own behavior first and realise that being driven everywhere in a gas gusling SUV means that they are part of the problem and not part of the solution.

Graces7 · 27-10-2019 01:20PM

Weltsmertz wrote: »

Teenagers these days are fragile and easily upset.
One of the things that seems to upset them the most these days is climate change. It makes them anxious and they even have protests and strikes to admonish adults for their irresponsible behaviors that contribute.
However many Irish teenagers unlike children years ago or children in other countries can no longer walk or cycle to school.
The roads are dangerous, stranger danger, they might get cold, they might get wet and catch pneumonia, they might hurt their backs from carrying schoolbags etc
However are they not being hypocrites. If they are concerned about climate change should they not look at their own behavior first and realise that being driven everywhere in a gas gusling SUV means that they are part of the problem and not part of the solution.

Too many variables and too many generalisations in your post. And rather patronising? Can you qualify more? One village I lived in organised a "walking bus" for small ones, to take away the need for multiple cars. It takes organisation. And parental willingness and example. The whole family needs to follow the same policy?
stles

Paddy Cow · 27-10-2019 01:22PM

Not every teenager is Greta whatever her name is.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo · 27-10-2019 01:25PM

The over reliance on cars is the biggest problem imo.

Using electricity to cook, clean, shower and refrigerate food are 'blood red line' issues. So nobody can ever give these up realistically.

But relying on walking, cycling and public transport to go about your business should be given priority.

One eyed Jack · 27-10-2019 01:27PM

That’s the second time in as many days I’ve seen the expression “eco-anxiety”, and each time the example given is of someone who claims to experience this anxiety, while at the same time flouting the same ideals they expect everyone else in society should adhere to.

They’re hypocrites of course, but I don’t think fragility is solely the preserve of teenagers, there appear to be far more adults experiencing the phenomenon of egocentric anxiety.

Weltsmertz · 27-10-2019 01:27PM

Graces7 wrote: »

One village I lived in organised a "walking bus" for small ones, to take away the need for multiple cars. It takes organisation. And parental willingness and example. The whole family needs to follow the same policy?
stles

Well. I think that you post is a good example of how Irish children are generation snowflake.
Years ago teenagers went out the door and walked to school. It didn't take organization and " walking buses" to keep them safe.
And the point I am making is not that they should not be entitled to be driven to school but that this kinda makes the lecturing they give to others about their behavior hypocritical.

Dravokivich · 27-10-2019 01:31PM

I see lots of teenagers walking to school in the morning. Not too sure what you're getting at OP?

wakka12 · 27-10-2019 01:38PM

Unsubstantiated nonsense. Most do not drive to school. Most secondary school students take the bus or walk. Just 22% of college students in Ireland drive to college.

Among secondary schoolchildren, 43.3% went to school by car, while 28.4% used the bus.

Walking was the most common means of travel to college, accounting for 26% of students (48,812).

Meanwhile 65% of workers in Ireland drive to work. So maybe quite a lot of students genuinely are concerned for the environment and are putting their money where their mouth is, youll be sad to hear you cant use this one anyway to try to invalidate their very justified 'eco anxiety'

In April 2016, 65.6% (1,229,966) of those commuting to work either drove or were passengers in a car.

https://www.cso.ie/en/csolatestnews/pressreleases/2017pressreleases/pressstatementcensus2016resultsprofile6-commutinginireland/

Graces7 · 27-10-2019 01:42PM

Weltsmertz wrote: »

Well. I think that you post is a good example of how Irish children are generation snowflake.
Years ago teenagers went out the door and walked to school. It didn't take organization and " walking buses" to keep them safe.
And the point I am making is not that they should not be entitled to be driven to school but that this kinda makes the lecturing they give to others about their behavior hypocritical.

I did say " little ones" … not teenagers.

And nothing of the snowflake about that. And yes the world has changed sadly.

"entitled"? their choice..

kneemos · 27-10-2019 01:45PM

Snowflake isn't a thing.

Weltsmertz · 27-10-2019 01:58PM

wakka12 wrote: »

Unsubstantiated nonsense. Most do not drive to school. Most secondary school students take the bus or walk. Just 22% of college students in Ireland drive to college.

So maybe quite a lot of students genuinely are concerned for the environment and are putting their money where their mouth is.

I specifically posted about teenagers going to secondary school and you try to use stats for college students. The stats are very clear. There has been a 90% fall in teenagers cycling to school and a significant fall in numbers walking. Do you remember school gates in the 80s being clogged with SUVs dropping children?

Weltsmertz · 27-10-2019 02:00PM

Graces7 wrote: »

And nothing of the snowflake about that. And yes the world has changed sadly.

"entitled"? their choice..

It is more your perception of the world that has changed. Children is other countries routinely walk or cycle to school. It is the narrative about how dangerous the big bad world is in Ireland that has changed.

Arrival · 27-10-2019 02:01PM

Imagine being an adult and thinking about writing a patronising post about children on forums like this...even worse to be an adult and actually follow through with writing it. You must lead one sad and small life

donvito99 · 27-10-2019 02:02PM

Children are driven to school by their parents who are undoubtedly the worst generation this country has ever 'produced'.

Weltsmertz · 27-10-2019 02:02PM

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Yeah I’ll throw all the tools and spares on the bike carrier and cycle to Cork or Galway. Glad you’ve all the issues solved.

Why are you going to secondary school in Cork or Galway if you live in Dublin..

washman3 · 27-10-2019 02:03PM

Dravokivich wrote: »

I see lots of teenagers walking to school in the morning. Not too sure what you're getting at OP?

So do I, but they live in the housing estate next to the school.

How far from the school are the teenagers you see 'walking'.?

Weltsmertz · 27-10-2019 02:05PM

Arrival wrote: »

Imagine being an adult and thinking about writing a patronising post about children on forums like this...even worse to be an adult and actually follow through with writing it. You must lead one sad and small life

Maybe I'm a teenager with eco anxiety that is concerned about the damage that is being done to the environment by parents like you who drive their children to school. Maybe you are the one that is being patronizing and inconsiderate.

wakka12 · 27-10-2019 02:08PM

Weltsmertz wrote: »

I specifically posted about teenagers going to secondary school and you try to use stats for college students. The stats are very clear. There has been a 90% fall in teenagers cycling to school and a significant fall in numbers walking. Do you remember school gates in the 80s being clogged with SUVs dropping children?

Tens of thousands of college students are teenagers. What am I 'trying to use' them for? What are you 'trying to use' this thread for? To make young peoples anxiety about the environment seem hypocritical and invalid? I wasnt alive in the 80's so I dont know. But the stats are also clear that in urban areas like Dublin , a majority of young people walk or cycle to school rather than driving. Much less so in rural areas, but have you not considered how compared to the 80's people live in even larger more sprawling urban environments and walking may no longer be feasible for a lot of children particularly in rural areas? And I agree that children have less freedom than children did in for example the 80's, but you make it sound like the children are the ones who insist on being driven to school, how do you know its not because of the parents who insist on it out of being over protective?

gozunda · 27-10-2019 02:08PM

One eyed Jack wrote: »

That’s the second time in as many days I’ve seen the expression “eco-anxiety”, and each time the example given is of someone who claims to experience this anxiety, while at the same time flouting the same ideals they expect everyone else in society should adhere to.

They’re hypocrites of course, but I don’t think fragility is solely the preserve of teenagers, there appear to be far more adults experiencing the phenomenon of egocentric anxiety.

It's a thing....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-anxiety

Dravokivich · 27-10-2019 02:08PM

washman3 wrote: »

So do I, but they live in the housing estate next to the school.
How far from the school are the teenagers you see 'walking'.?

From housing estates that are not beside the schools they are going to. They all seem to meet up in the middle of the village then split off to their schools in opposite directions.

The Bishop Basher · 27-10-2019 02:12PM

Anyone claiming to have eco anxiety needs to be told to cop the **** on and get over themselves.

We're all giving this nonsense too much airtime and yes I get the irony of posting that.

Weltsmertz · 27-10-2019 02:30PM

Official CSO stats
Percentage of secondary school students being driven to school by car has increased from 9% to 42%. Significant decrease in numbers walking or taking bus. Percentage cycling down by over 90%

And again these are the teenagers that are lecturing us about climate change.

27-10-2019 02:35PM

Weltsmertz wrote: »

Official CSO stats
Percentage of secondary school students being driven to school by car has increased from 9% to 42%. Significant decrease in numbers walking or taking bus. Percentage cycling down by over 90%

And again these are the teenagers that are lecturing us about climate change.

Being driven to school..by their parents who come from the older generations

Mister Vain · 27-10-2019 02:42PM

The audacity of them. And they probably have avocados for their lunch which had to be sent over from god knows where.

Weltsmertz · 27-10-2019 02:53PM

Thousands of students and took to the streets to demand urgent action from political leaders to tackle climate change.

In Dublin, more than 10,000 children and young people gathered in the city’s Custom House Quay, and many held signs criticising the current Government and their environmental policy, such as “I’ve seen smarter cabinets in Ikea” and “Save the sea Michael D”. There were others saying “There is no planet B”, “The dinosaurs also thought they had time”, and “I want a hot boyfriend, not a hot earth”.

The crowds chanted for about an hour, calling out: “climate justice now”
One young protester, Rory Rusnak (14) from Sutton Park School, attended the march with his younger sister, and held a sign saying “Tick tock Taoiseach”, saying he felt he needed to send a direct message to Leo Varadkar.

“I think it’s important Leo Varadkar act on climate change, we young people are going to inherit the earth and it’s being destroyed right now for profit,” he said.

“The Government needs to do much more, I’d like them bring through real legislation and listen to young people .”

One mother who joined the protest, Christine McGee, said she was inspired by her children to become a climate activist. “The students are telling us we have to act now,” she said.

“Leo has to be bold, stop the fossil fuels. I consider myself a climate activist now, after listening to my children. I was inspired by them.

gozunda · 27-10-2019 03:08PM

The Bishop Basher wrote: »

Anyone claiming to have eco anxiety needs to be told to cop the **** on and get over themselves.

We're all giving this nonsense too much airtime and yes I get the irony of posting that.

Like this ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-49836830

1o059k7ewrqj3n · 27-10-2019 03:25PM

I grew up in an era where literally some underpaid Russian conscript in a freezing nuclear missile command bunker could misinterpret the readouts from his faulty console and trigger nuclear armageddon. On several occasions this was very close to happening. CND was pretty big but nobody was getting anxiety from it, I didn't lose any sleep. This was even after Chernobyl and tv shows like Threads and When the Wind Blows.

27-10-2019 03:32PM

kneemos wrote: »

Snowflake isn't a thing.

It's as much a thing as eco anxiety.

CoBo55 · 27-10-2019 03:36PM

kneemos wrote: »

Snowflake isn't a thing.

Loads of them in The Antarctic... For the moment!!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 27-10-2019 03:46PM

CoBo55 wrote: »

Loads of them in The Antarctic... For the moment!!

There's aren't actually. It's mostly ice and considered a desert, due to the lack of precipitation. It rarely snows in Antarctica with only the outer portions of the continent experiencing up to 6 inches of snow per year.

PopePalpatine · 27-10-2019 03:46PM

Mister Vain wrote: »

The audacity of them. And they probably have avocados for their lunch which had to be sent over from god knows where.

A good half pound of gammon instead will set them straight!

Teenagers with eco anxiety being driven to school.

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