Within the universe of the work The Lord of the Rings, the 'Sauron's Eye’ symbolizes the constant vigilance, the absolute power and the oppression exercised by Sauron over all Middle-earth.He is described as a flaming eye that sees everything, representing the threatening presence and the desire for total control of the villain. All researchers and professionals who work with and on the internet agree that much has changed since it became ubiquitous among adults, children and adolescents. But these diverge in this field: would be smartphones and social networks the eye of Sauron simply because we exist and we do their use or we make it dysfunctional, any article that has an impact on it, it can have a leak it, it, it can have a fundamental impact on it, it can have a fundamental impact on the technology and it, it has a fundamental impact on it, it, it can make it, it has a technology and it has a fundamental impact on it, it has a technology and it has a negative impact on it, it, it, it can make it has a fundamental impact on it, it can make it, it, it, it has a technology and it, what it can make it has a difference, what it can make it has a difference, what it, what it has a difference, what is it, what is it has a difference, what is it has a difference, what is it?
Lately, especially after the publication of the book “A generation anxious”, by Jonathan Haidt, alarmism has spread among parents and educators, who found a culprit for the ills afflicting generations Z (1997 to 2009) and Alpha (2010 to 2024): smartphones. For Haidt, the simple presence of smartphones in one place, with indiscriminate use of social networks, is responsible for the increase in psychiatric diseases. To support his conclusions, he shows data from the American College Health Association: since 2008, the number of smartphones in 101 T1 with 3 adolescents diagnosed with some 230.
As a researcher and professor in the digital world, I view these numbers with suspicion because children throughout history have grown up under greater threats than the presence of a smartphone. And we don't need to travel into the past to find these children: Following the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel, among children and adolescents who had direct contact, the prevalence of mental health disorders increased from 17% to 30%.
I am concerned that, in Brazil and globally, we are creating laws intended to prohibit smartphone access based on a moral panic that, apparently, doesn't withstand the slightest scrutiny. Regardless, the digital world has had an impact on our lives, that is undeniable, but allow me to submit an alternative hypothesis: that it is our culture, aided by smartphones, that is changing adolescent behavior.
Smartphones, surprisingly present since 1994, only gained widespread popularity starting in 2007 with the first iPhone. If they've existed for so long, why are teenagers only feeling their impact now? Haidt blames social media and fast mobile internet. I, and other researchers, like the Italian Alberto Acerbi, have a different opinion: it's culture, stupid!
With smartphones, anyone has become a journalist, or in today's jargon, a "content creator." This means that no matter where we are or what we do, there will always be an eye of Sauron, malicious and red, watching us. This would be okay if surveillance were the only problem. The issue is that this all-seeing eye also cancels, humiliates, and shames.
Imagine a teenager trying to win their first girlfriend: there's always the risk of rejection. That's normal, but today, anyone trying to approach someone else, online or in real life, risks being humiliated and canceled in the public square of the internet. A simple Print Screen A 18-year-old boy can be a laughingstock around the world.
The best content ever produced by this cancel culture the internet has brought to light is Monica Lewinsky's TED Talk. Yes, the same one. I did not have sex with that woman.In it, the most hated woman of 1997 speaks not only about her own, but also numerous experiences of people who were, metaphorically, lynched in the digital public square. And the solution? A new culture, a culture of tolerance and grace on the internet, in which things like the previous screenshot would be ignored by us, a behavior... déclassé
The best translation of "déclassé" in English depends on the context. There isn't one single perfect equivalent. Possible translations include:
* **Declassed** (a literal translation, but often sounds awkward in common usage)
* **Downgraded** (if referring to a rank or status)
* **Reduced in status** (a more general and often more natural option)
* **Disgraced** (if referring to a loss of respect or reputation)
* **Down-and-out** (implying poverty or social decline)
* **Out of status** (less formal, can convey a feeling of falling from grace)
* **Decadent** (if describing a style or atmosphere)
Please provide the sentence or paragraph containing "déclassé" so I can give a more accurate and natural English translation.Crude.
And the mental health crisis? Are teenagers really sicker? According to the World Economic Forum, teenagers are delaying their entry into adulthood.
My hypothesis is that, out of fear of humiliation and cancellation, teenagers are not getting their driver's licenses, aren't going out in public, and remain infantilized for longer. The prospect of entering the world, whether digital or real, presents a real social risk their minds aren't prepared for. In fact, nobody is.
What most surprises me about the prohibitive frenzy, both from Haidt and Brazilian and foreign lawmakers, who have chosen the smartphone as the source of all evil, is that Haidt has written multiple times about how a culture that has public humiliation as a hobby cannot be healthy. He calls this scheme, present in cognitive behavioral therapy theory, "mind-reading," and we tend to assume the worst intentions of others.
To overcome this behavior, this culture that we have today 'that I have to agree, is highly dysfunctional ''' Haidt suggests a more generous posture and that assumes good intentions in the actions and words of others. This approach helps to reduce unnecessary conflicts and promotes healthier interactions, especially in polarized environments. By challenging these automatic assumptions, we managed to turn the eye of Sauron into more empathetic and tolerant eyes, as well as build a more rational communication. On the Internet and in real life, without having to prohibit anything.
(*) Lilian Carvalho holds a PhD in Marketing and is the coordinator of the Center for Studies in Digital Marketing at FGV/EAESP and the founder of the Lumiere Method