Proof that the jackass generation really is dumber.

[JW]

Link and story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050724/...NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Experts: Youngsters Trying Riskier Stunts By MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer
Sun Jul 24, 1:31 PM ET

Two young people have died in Idaho, each suspected of trying to catch a buzz by cutting off the blood supply to their brains. Also in recent weeks, a college student in Kentucky and another youth in Michigan have fallen to their deaths while "surfing" atop moving vehicles.

Dangerous activities like these aren't new, but experts say today's teens are increasingly likely to try them — and to take more risks than previous generations.

"It's certainly part of the teenage psyche — but we're seeing an enormous amount of it of late," says Frank Farley, a psychologist at Temple University in Philadelphia who's been studying risk-takers since the 1960s.

The trend not only includes stunts that clearly cross the line of common sense — such as "the choking game" that may have caused the Idaho deaths — but also more calculated risk-taking, such as extreme sports with trick-heavy competitions involving skateboards, snowboards or BMX bikes.

"My generation is looking to be different; they're looking for ways to be individuals," says Christopher Sorichetti, a 20-year-old from San Diego who's been doing high-flying bicycle stunts since he was 12. "My sport is almost like a rebel sport. For the guys, it's kind of like a bad boy image. You're popular, pretty much, because you're known as a bad boy."

Sorichetti has ruptured a kidney, punctured a lung and broken many ribs doing bike stunts that have gone wrong. And this summer, he broke his right forearm in two places after falling.

Still, he plans to get back on his bike when he recovers.

"I do it for the feeling of knowing it's dangerous and knowing you can get hurt doing it," Sorichetti says from his hospital bed. "I couldn't see my life without it."

It's an attitude that causes many adults to scratch their heads. But experts say that young people today are wearing their wounds as a badge of courage — and constantly looking for ways to outdo one another.

"As stuff becomes more common, then the degree that you have to go to be uncommon — to be unique — is a little more extreme," says Dr. Jeffrey Smith, the orthopedic trauma surgeon in San Diego who put Sorichetti's arm back together.

Others note that young risk-takers may react the way they do because they've grown up with constant stimulation from video games and TV.

"They have become adrenaline junkies," says Dr. Lynne Tan, a psychiatrist at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. "They also have to keep upping the ante in order to get the same thrill because, after a while, the body gets used to the activity."

Technology also has given young people the ability to share their stunts with one another by way of the Internet — whether it be their latest skateboarding trick or an outrageous stunt, such as friends pepper-spraying a buddy for a laugh, or even jumping off buildings.

"In this wired world, you can link with other people doing these things instantly. And it develops a kind of camaraderie — almost a license to do it," says Farley, the psychologist at Temple. "In an earlier time, we didn't have such instant access to peer validation."

Parents and others can, of course, talk to their kids about avoiding really dangerous stunts — sharing the many instances when car surfing, for example, has turned deadly or resulted in massive head injuries. The choking game, which flares up every so often in various regions across the country, also claims at least a couple of lives a year.

"Parents need to be aware of what teenagers are doing so they can talk to their kids," says Jennifer Collette, a mother in Valparaiso, Ind., whose daughter played the choking game with friends at a neighbor's house last December. Her daughter, now 13, didn't pass out, but the choking — done by a 17-year-old boy — caused blood vessels in her eyes and face to burst.

"She was pretty scared, and she said she'd never do it again," Collette says.

Extreme sports are a trickier call. As the popularity of pro competitions increases, so does the emphasis on safety.

Still, a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Smith in San Diego says he regularly runs across young patients who injure themselves — and who plan to return to a dangerous sport.

So he does what he can: He stresses the importance of wearing safety equipment, such as helmets and wrist-guards and hopes for the best.

Other physicians agree that this kind of risk-taking can be dangerous — but they point out that, more often, young people die in car accidents or from violence.

"Our kids are getting shot," says Dr. Karen Sheehan, a physician at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago who is also the medical director of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids. "They get enough of a thrill trying to make it to school safely."

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Lest some of the young folks get mad, yes, I did some dumb things as a teen back in the 1900s. But my friends and I never looked at a situation like some kids today do, i.e., "This looks really neat but if I try this I will probably end up getting seriously injured or killed; YEAH, let's do it!" We had at least some common sense despite our youth and lack of experience.

[rkmsuf]

meh, I think this stuff just gets more press now.

The Gold Collar Generation followed by the Jackass Generation.

[JW]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

meh, I think this stuff just gets more press now.

The Gold Collar Generation followed by the Jackass Generation.

I think it is partially more press, but partially more things for impressionable young people (and, yes, some are impressionable, even today) to emulate on TV and media in general, including on line. Jackass is one example. When I was growing up we didn't really have people on tv modeling how to get yourself hurt doing something stupid. And for some reason, we really didn't try some of the dumb things we saw on tv. During all my teen years I never saw anyone try to emulate a pro wrestling head slam etc., even though we had that on tv. At my school alone, we have had several such wannabe wrestling incidents alone, with two resulting in injuries. So I don't think it is just getting more press. I think it is more complex.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by JW

I think it is partially more press, but partially more things for impressionable young people (and, yes, some are impressionable, even today) to emulate on TV and media in general, including on line. Jackass is one example. When I was growing up we didn't really have people on tv modeling how to get yourself hurt doing something stupid. And for some reason, we really didn't try some of the dumb things we saw on tv. During all my teen years I never saw anyone try to emulate a pro wrestling head slam etc., even though we had that on tv. At my school alone, we have had several such wannabe wrestling incidents alone, with two resulting in injuries. So I don't think it is just getting more press. I think it is more complex.

Probably and maybe it's the scope of it I would downplay.

I mean every generation had this in different forms.

[John Galt]

Hopefully, though, with better media access, dumb kids will stop doing the same stunts that have failed many times before. It seems like every generation had too many kids who thought they could lie under a train as it went by. With the Internet, maybe they will learn new and better ways to kill themselves instead of trying the old reliable techniques.

[JW]

Originally Posted by John Galt

Hopefully, though, with better media access, dumb kids will stop doing the same stunts that have failed many times before. It seems like every generation had too many kids who thought they could lie under a train as it went by. With the Internet, maybe they will learn new and better ways to kill themselves instead of trying the old reliable techniques.

Darwinian selection? Improve the gene pool by encouraging the flawed to do themselves in? I had never thought of that. We need a special prosecutor. I wonder if Rove is behind this.

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by JW

Darwinian selection? Improve the gene pool by encouraging the flawed to do themselves in? I had never thought of that. We need a special prosecutor. I wonder if Rove is behind this.

I wasn't really defending Darwinian selection. I believe the stupid will always do themselves in. I'm just hoping for new, innovative, and even spectacular ways to die. Dying the old ways over and over again was just sad.

[jeff061]

That stuff has always been going on. I remember a kid in my middle school class being wheeled off on a stretcher because he was doing that no blood to brain thing. Thing is, he was the only one who got injured. There were dozens of kids doing that, though not so much after that incident.

Hell, I remember a kid sticking a fork into a power outlet with a buddy holding his hand, cause he thought they could take it if two people were there to absorb the electricity. A fuse blew and power for the wing went down, no injuries that time. Wonder if they are still alive.

[Klinglerware]

Maybe. I would agree that it's probably mostly greater reporting, with some kernel of truth thrown in. Also, the birthrate had risen in the past 20 years--I'd be interested if their rate of "jackass stunts" actually outpaces population growth. If so, there might be a legitimate finding; if not, just an effect of more kids being around...

[Galaxy]

Does parenting play a role?

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Does parenting play a role?

Dunno about active parenting, but the lack of it seems to be the obvious cause to me.


I'm trying to figure out why its so hard for parents today to get a grip on their children and stop them from being fucking morons.

[Subby]

This behavior is no riskier than Generation X proclivity for sticking their penises in each other's buttholes, really...

[BrianD]

I wonder if this is somehow related to today's privileged society? Kids are so pampered and protected that they don't realize just how dangerous stupidity can be?

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by BrianD

Kids don't realize just how dangerous stupidity can be

Priceless.....

[Superman=#54]

It is a slippery slope.