The Kids Are Alright: You're Just Not Paying Attention!
Young people are saying smart shit in smart ways you can’t argue with.
And honestly? It makes sense.
When you grow up with a computer in your pocket — with access to more information in a single swipe than entire generations had in a lifetime — your baseline is just smarter.
Your instincts are sharper.
Your references are wider.
Your bullshit meter is unforgiving.
People think phones are ruining kids.
I think phones raised a generation that can out-argue, out-research, and out-communicate every generation before them.
They grew up online.
They learned to think fast.
They learned to see through adults who couldn’t keep up.
And that’s what I’m seeing now — kids saying things I wish I knew at their age… in ways that shut the whole room up.
So yeah, maybe the internet melted some brains.
But it sharpened a lot more.
And if you’re scrolling the socials and all you see is bullshit, dopamine hits, and anger?
That’s not the world — that’s the view.
It’s the algorithm.
You get out of it what you put in.
What you search for.
What you stop on.
What you feed.
The algorithm is life, dude.
It’s so obvious once you see it.
You over-complicate it and suddenly it starts shaping you — the way you use it, the way you see the world.
But when you lean toward the light, things get brighter.
You see more clearly.
And what is the light if not the glow of information right there in your hand?
And who better to lead us than the generation that never knew a time before it?
They grew up with this stuff.
They know the tools, the blind spots, the traps, the dangers.
They know how to wield it because it’s always been there — not magic, not mystery, just part of the environment.
It’s information, after all.
And if you treat it right, it becomes wisdom.
And that’s why I put my faith in the future.
My 16-year-old is already twice the man I was at 30.
Smarter. Kinder. More confident.
Green? Sure.
Inexperienced? Yeah.
But time fixes that.
What he has — what his whole generation has — you can’t teach: a default kindness. A natural empathy. A sense that people matter.
My son and his friends inspire me.
They want for little. They ask for little.
Give them a phone to stay connected, some games and shows — great.
But what they really want is experience. Life. Connection.
My kid shops at outlet stores.
He spent an afternoon thrifting with his friends.
Cool isn’t a label to them — it’s a way of being.
It’s doing shit you enjoy and finding others who enjoy it with you.
And here’s the part nobody talks about:
these kids actually want to learn.
Because learning today is easy.
It’s not force-fed the way it used to be.
My kid is teaching himself Japanese.
And he’s getting good — really good.
Why?
Because it’s a game.
The tool gives him games to play, and the games contain the lessons.
How fucking obvious is that?
Kids want to learn because the world finally made learning fun.
Imagine what they can do when the world starts making everything else fun too.
Kids aren’t drifting apart — they’re coming together.
We’re just not taking the time to notice.
And that’s on us, not them.
Fact check me if you want — but you know I’m right.