Waking up this morning I found a light sprinkling of snow which, if the temperature gauge in the paws is anything to go by, will not last long.
Still, cold enough to plan nothing more than a seat near the fire and some light social media-ing.
And guess what popped up first – someone on FaceAche asking what the road was like between A and B.
Have we lost the ability to look out of the window and make a common sense judgement or are people now in constant need of reassurance?
And why do we need to ask everyone for help when a simple phone call would suffice (is the butchers open this afternoon?).
Is this why all manner of local authorities and Government organisations feel the need to provide blow-by-blow advice on how to survive when we get snow/wind/rain?
Of course, I have a very good fur coat which repels much of what the world throws at me but as if often said, for you humans, there is no such thing as bad weather, just unsuitable clothing.
I think we might add to that, common sense is now something that has to be reinforced by posts on various social media.
Now all this fits with much research into the move away from child’s play to a life revolving around smart phones and the need to ‘know everything’ and being seen to ‘know everything’. How many of your friends tell you every time they have a meal or post picture after picture every time the go on holiday?
In the past, children grew up playing in the garden, the street, the park, at school, with their friends and peer group.
This was the socialisation that developed their skills in relation to decision making and taking risks. All part of growing up where children were confronted with various challenges with a degree of appropriate adversity.
Now, less time is spent in child’s play and increasing amounts of time are spent on the smartphone or tablet or on the games console locked in their rooms. So, the age appropriate challenges are missed.
And even the playground is now super safe where there is little chance of a fall resulting in the ubiquitous graze to the knee.
Fewer kids walk to school. Walking develops their decision-making and risk awareness skills when it comes to crossing the road (Green Cross Code?) where mummy and daddy molly coddle them by delivering them to the school gates and pick them up at the end of the day.
What this creates, according to the research, is increasing levels of mental health issues with younger people – anxiety disorder, depression both of which might lead to self harm and even suicide.
While suicide rates for young people are always concerning this is particularly true of two specific groups: firstly, university students who face life away from family and friends, now commonly known as their ‘support group’, who become isolated because they have not mastered the making of friendships.
The second is young women who face the additional burden of dealing with body shaming as so many can never aspire to the perfect looks of the film stars or models.
Even Facebook admitted in material leaked in 2021, that they were aware of the damage to young minds but, despite this, they continue to value their profits over the wellbeing of their users.
So, what is to be done?
This is the challenge now faced by parents who will be confronted with that clarion call of “all my friends have a smartphone and are on WhatsApp/Instagram/SnapChat”, etc.
The Online Safety Act, passed just last year, is an attempt, be it very late, to try and limit the damage to young people and we should expect, nay demand, that the social media companies respect their customers.
But, closer to home, perhaps the local councils will be less eager to post their ‘this is what to do when it snows, rains, or blows’ and, instead, encourage people to develop and then exercise that level of common sense that everyone should be able to manage.
Do people really need to be told that driving onto Honister Pass or Wrynose (other passes are available) when it is freezing and/or snowing, is not a good idea when the evidence is there, plain to see in front of their eyes?
And why do we pander to them when they do? You get stuck on a high pass then don’t expect the police or mountain rescue come to save you.
What, you didn’t pack a shovel in the boot of the car, or made sure your phone was fully charged? You don’t have a blanket in the car, or drinks and snacks? What were you thinking? Well, not a lot…..
Of course, those who are vulnerable may need to be supported but that support should come from their ‘support group’ and not become part of some narrative that requires councils and, yes, the media, to roll back the regime of ‘this is what you need to know’.
By reducing the emotional hand holding, we might, just might, recapture some of the common sense that is so sadly lacking today.
About Cumbria Cat
Born in Cumberland and now back living in Cumberland, having spent most of the past 50 years in some place called Cumbria, this cat has used up all nine lives as well as a few others.
Always happy to curl up on a friendly lap, the preference is for a local lap and not a lap that wants to descend on the county to change it into something it isn’t.
After all, you might think Cumbria/Cumberland/Westmorland is a land forged by nature – the glaciers, the rivers, breaking down the volcanic rocks or the sedimentary layers – but, in reality, the Cumbria we know today was forged by generations of local people, farmers, miners, quarriers, and foresters.
This cat is a local moggy, not a Burmese, Ocicat or Persian, and although I have been around the block a few times, whenever I jump, I end up on my feet back in my home county.
I am passionate about the area, its people, past, present and future, and those who come to admire what we hold dear, be it lakes and mountains, wild sea shores, vibrant communities or the history as rich and diverse as anywhere in the world.
