The Kids Are Not Alright — And We’re Pretending Everything’s Fine
The education system is not equipped to handle algorithmic influence, emotional manipulation, or online radicalisation — and yet we have never needed change more urgently.
We are failing a generation — not by accident, but arguably by choice. While students are being silently shaped, misled and manipulated by an unregulated media machine, the education system is busy patting itself on the back for hitting targets that ultimately, mean fuck all. The world outside the school is a psychological warzone of misinformation, algorithmic bias, and dopamine-driven outrage — and we respond with curriculum grids, box-ticking and ‘thought showers’. We are not preparing kids for reality. We are, unfortunately, complicit in their intellectual disarmament.
Problem: The Curriculum Ignores the Biggest Influence on Students’ Thinking
The average student today spends far more time engaging with social media than with any school subject. I know it, you know it, we’ve all seen it. Yet somehow, our curriculum still treats media literacy as a ‘nice-to-have’, squeezed into PSHE, turtor time, some shit assembly or maybe, if you are lucky, a bolt-on English lesson. It is a catastrophic error. We are not just neglecting a subject; we are ignoring the primary environment where our students are forming beliefs, attitudes and identities.
While Mariana Spring is getting death threats for daring to expose the way people are radicalised online, our education system is handing out “digital citizenship” worksheets that treat misinformation like a minor glitch. It’s not a glitch — it’s the enitre system. The machine is designed to provoke, divide, and addict. It’s class A drugs. And we’re teaching kids to “stay safe online” by “just saying no” or like it’s a fucking empty fire drill. Apologies for mixing metaphors but you get the gist.
Causes
The System Is Built on Willful Ignorance and Logical Fallacies. The core issue? Leadership’s approach to media influence is at worst neglegent or at best, based on a fantasy version of childhood. One where kids are blank slates, obediently using iPads for homework, and forming opinions through structured debate. Out side of fantasy land, in reality, they’re absorbing conspiracy theories and toxic ideas on TikTok before breakfast. As Mariana Spring refers to in Conspiracyland and Among the Trolls, young people aren’t just witnessing the chaos — they’re in it, navigating a digital swamp of lies, rage, and weaponised identity politics.
But leadership keeps peddling false binaries:
- False Dichotomy Fallacy: “Either we teach traditional academic rigour or we ‘go soft’ on media and emotions.”
- Appeal to Tradition: “We’ve always taught this way and it worked for us.” Did it, though?
- Straw Man Arguments: “We can’t let TikTok replace Shakespeare.” No one said that. Teach them fucking both so students can understand how narratives shape reality — whether it’s a sonnet or a viral conspiracy.
The worst part? This isn’t just oversight — it’s inertia disguised as wisdom. It’s bureaucratic cowardice dressed up as piss poor strategy.
Effects: Misinformed, Mistrustful, and Mentally Overloaded Students
Students don’t trust institutions, because the only “truths” they’re absorbing are algorithmically tailored echo chambers to reinforce their confirmation bias. They’re anxious, confused, and emotionally reactive — not because they’re fragile, but because they’re overwhelmed and under-equipped.
Kids are parroting half-truths they saw on YouTube, reposting politically loaded memes they don’t understand, and getting sucked into echo chambers before they’ve even developed critical faculties. Jaron Lanier’s warning is spot on — the platforms aren’t just changing behaviour, they’re reprogramming thought. And we’re letting it happen. It’s a behaviour manipulation network — there is little social about it.
We measure literacy, numeracy and attendance while entirely ignoring the slow erosion of cognitive independence. It’s not enough for kids to pass their GCSEs if they can’t tell the difference between a fact and a feeling. But liek SLT give a fuck about that!
Solutions
- Make Critical Media Literacy Core Curriculum
Not optional. Not PSHE. A core fucking subject. Teach framing, bias, algorithms, propaganda, emotional manipulation, logical fallacies — and how all of this shapes thinking. Call it “Modern Literacy” if you want, badge it, brand it. But fucking teach it. - Train Teachers in the Realities of Media Influence
Stop treating social media like some unknowable thing. Give teachers the tools to understand and discuss how online culture affects identity, belief, and group behaviour. It worries me that we actively discourage teachers from challenging Tate, we are in fucking educatiuon, we should relish taking such a subject on. - Integrate Psychological Insight Into Curriculum Design
Design curriculum and teaching practices informed by what we now know about cognition, influence, and attention — not what we wish were true. Students need skills to filter, question, and analyse information before they absorb it. Books like Jonah Berger’s Invisible Influence, Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow, and Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows should be essential reading, alongside other books mentioned on my site, for anyone serious about equipping students to think clearly in a world designed to confuse them. - Call Out Bullshit When You See It
School leaders need to stop pretending the Emperor is wearing new clothes. No, your digital strategy isn’t effective if it ignores the core issue. “Resilience week” isn’t enough. A tutor time PowerPoint, isnt enough. The house is on fucking fire — you can’t fix it with a fucking posters and an acronym.
Conclusion
If we want to raise kids who can think, not just function, we have to face reality. We need to stop congratulating ourselves for a system that rewards compliance and start building one that defends autonomy. Because at the momenbt, the loudest voices our students hear are online manipulators, rage-baiters, and profit-driven algorithms.
We’re the only counterbalance they’ve got — and we’re squandering that power.
We can’t wait for another inquiry, another scandal, another “what went wrong?” post-mortem. We need to teach the truth — about power, influence, and how the mind works — before it’s too late. Fuck me, we need Rage Against the Machine to write the curriculum becuase actually thye were right: ‘The curriculum’s a cellblock and it makes me want to spit’
