They seem to think it the acme of comedy to repeat things, for group approval; to use some version of “that’s what she said” as the focal point of their argument.
It’s not possible for me personally not to see a role in all this played by electronics. These kids–and twenty year olds are still kids, nowadays, most of them–grew up in a sort of hive mind enabled by texting and smartphones. All you need to get attention is a single word, a point of resonance, to which the hive mind reacts in predictable ways.
What these kids have lacked in on-going adult conversation. To get into an elite school obviously they took care of their test scores, got high grades, brown-nosed the right teachers, and demonstrated interests outside of school.
But did they ever truly undergo a process of emotional maturation? It would not appear so. They seem to think Spongebob Squarepants sorts of humor and interaction are normal and acceptable.
I had a very strict ban on that show specifically (and Rugrats, and Cartoon Network generally) as far as my own kids, because as I told them I could feel myself getting stupider every moment I spent watching that show. But not all kids had parents like me. Far too many of them, seemingly, consumed far too much of it. If I were a Communist, working on social propaganda to weaken the United States, that is the sort of programming I would have come up with. Maybe that is literally what happened, even if somewhat inadvertently.
But these kids learn to put up a tough front. They learn synchronizing signals, things that will get everyone to laugh. But inwardly, they are weak and pathetic and they know it. They lack character. They lack dignity. They lack emotional independence. They lack originality and creativity. And they suffer inwardly because of all these defects, and because their social relations are fundamentally superficial, because they are superficial people. They lack the language of deep emotion. They lack practice using it, or even attempting it. Their politics is a bandage over their fundamental rootlessness, uselessness, and directionlessness. They are Outer Directed people who are not yet being consistently told what to do. This is what makes some form of fascistic politics so vitally important to them emotionally.
Again, it’s hard to be optimistic. But there are many game-changers which could happen on us in the course of week or even a day. These are all abstractions. I still have my health, my freedom, and another day.