Great post, and it points toward the difference between making your own meaning in life and the apathy that paralyzes us. I found myself (during a particularly depressed time in my life) sinking into that briefly during an election cycle in the US, until I realize that such apathy was actually a manifestation of my own privilege. My own life/wellbeing as a cis/het white male would change very little regardless of who was in power; but for others it literally was a question of life or death.
Camus and Sartre (less so) seemed to help us create meaning where none exists. If we escape all the time then it's a (bad) addiction, assuming you want meaning or purpose or "real life experiences". I think many in my generation x cohort learned how to act in the world by watching Friends, which is not the worst but not the best way to learn. TV has been around a long time and we have many ways to escape. If someone works long hours and barely scrapes by then Netflix time may be a luxury. The opiate of the masses. The economic basis for needing to escape. For the upper classes it can be travel, drugs, sex, and the connective tissue of social media. With no true meaning the need for this tissue is even higher.
Children are profoundly engaged with learning. The rule of thumb was to remember they are lusty to grow up. Also the atmosphere of a classroom is full of presences, bodies challenged to sit in straight backed chairs and aware of each other as a social scene. This after the Scene in adult life is become prey to melancholy.
Great post, and it points toward the difference between making your own meaning in life and the apathy that paralyzes us. I found myself (during a particularly depressed time in my life) sinking into that briefly during an election cycle in the US, until I realize that such apathy was actually a manifestation of my own privilege. My own life/wellbeing as a cis/het white male would change very little regardless of who was in power; but for others it literally was a question of life or death.
Camus and Sartre (less so) seemed to help us create meaning where none exists. If we escape all the time then it's a (bad) addiction, assuming you want meaning or purpose or "real life experiences". I think many in my generation x cohort learned how to act in the world by watching Friends, which is not the worst but not the best way to learn. TV has been around a long time and we have many ways to escape. If someone works long hours and barely scrapes by then Netflix time may be a luxury. The opiate of the masses. The economic basis for needing to escape. For the upper classes it can be travel, drugs, sex, and the connective tissue of social media. With no true meaning the need for this tissue is even higher.
Children are profoundly engaged with learning. The rule of thumb was to remember they are lusty to grow up. Also the atmosphere of a classroom is full of presences, bodies challenged to sit in straight backed chairs and aware of each other as a social scene. This after the Scene in adult life is become prey to melancholy.