This semester we’re reading “The Price if Privilege” by @DrMadelineL alongside Proverbs. Parents naively aren’t prepared for what affluence ($125K+ household income) does to kids. These affluent kids have the worst mental health of any income economic demographic in America. 
Sadly, too many of my students nod through every page of this book because being raised in affluent Christian subculture was no different. Parents still prize performance!! Our kid’s mental health is not worth it. Here’s how it starts:
(1) Raising kids to seek a job they love. (2) Raising kids so that they’re expecting to be fulfilled by a career. (3) Investing more in their resume than their capacity to love & serve others. NYC is full of self-centered professionals pursuing an idealized self.
(4) Raising them so that they’re primarily externally motivated (grades, choice of major, career, lifestyle preference, “likes” on Insta, influence, etc.) rather than internally motivated (edu is for learning, virtuous actions not b/c they benefit them, eating for health, etc.)
And this nonsense is justified with this toxic question, “well, how much money can you make doing that?” When we invest in performance, that’s what we get. Imagine if we invested as much in virtue! Today’s performance perfectionism is literally driving GenZ crazy. #NotWorthIt
While millennials were driven to neurosis by their success-focused parents, GenZ additionally has an internal success/perfectionism problem, exacerbated by dopamine driven social media platforms like Tik tok, Insta, Snap Chat, etc. Self-worth is determine by others’ posts.
The course is called “Christianity and Society.” #KingsIsDifferent
