RE: Is media screwing our confidence?
I was also under this same impression for quite some time when I finally decided to study up on philosophy and tried to understand the World. And one of the earliest of topics I thought as a kid was why they promote “talent” in kids at such an early age. I believe that due to how the economy has been globally and how shitty recessions/depressions, that we eventually molded and accepted the idea of “talent.” And when that is coupled with ruthless competition, it gives rise to things you have analyzed and their outcomes of that outcome. Especially doesn’t help when they think that the coming/existing social ills coming out of contemporary competition at such an early age can be resolved be resolved by making kids more competitively. I say this is a socio-economic disaster that, though slowly building up, will blow into a huge gasket.
Well, probably... I'd approach the pure human nature that sees the "talent" as an unhuman characteristic, specially "perfect" and "pure" human beings such as kids. This has been around for centuries (Mozart was touring in Europe as a child-prodigy, for instance).
The point is that TV projects this to the masses, since it brings audiences, without any effort towards masses's education on the value of work and effort.
My opinion is actually a bit more radical than presented here. Bartók said once "competitions are for horses, not for artists". I think we should leave the horses in peace as well :)
And to add unto this conversation to just add unto my comment. Not that I necessarily disagree with yours (might be a problem of language here and not that we have actual conflicting opinions):
I’m basically saying that the worship of “talent” is dehumanizing those who are genuinely talented and those trying to become as such. That is, that talent isn’t given in birth but only built up by experience, and some are faster to acquire and utilize that experience than others. Thus why Mozart was talented because he had prior experience before touring, understood very well that experience in relationship to what he wanted to be and had a contingently positive path laid out for him that further made him more talented. He never really had to experience the power of TV projections nor calls for finding their “talents.”
But with modern society, we promote “talent” searching like it is innate in all kids to have a “talent” and not be able to develop ones over time with labor. Most of the time, a kid’s actual talent is most of the time the one they actual liked to do as a kid and is willing to labor for. Exampli gratia, a kid likes what a car mechanic does and is exposed to the trade constantly, more than likely they’ll become a car mechanic or a mechanic of some kind. And sometime’s a kid’s talent runs into “talents” society is pushing on them to have.
Nonetheless, I agree we should leave the horses in peace because we realistically don’t know if and can’t communicate with them if they like competition or not. But horses working together seems to be as evident as human tribal societies were as well. We’re social creatures, not competitive machines!
So I say let’s be realists and demand the impossible. Let’s demand for and struggle towards a noncompetitive and collective future where we all can feel free to be individual humans as such.
Well, I don't see "talent" as the innate "knowledge" or "experience", but as the ability of learning and acquiring proficiency quicker than most people. So I guess we do agree! :)
Thanks for stopping by!
Woot! And thank you for making this post.