Everyone’s watching the Netflix 4-parter Lord of the Flies.
So let me repeat what the great Peter Gray says about that story:
IT. IS. FICTION.
We can’t use it as a reason to give kids less freedom because “this is what happens.” Because it’s not. (The REAL story of 6 kids marooned on an island found them working cooperatively and rescued more than a YEAR LATER. Look up “Tongan Castaways.” The boys not only maintained their humanity, they worked as a group, kept a fire burning the whole time, and even held funerals for the birds they cooked for food.)
As for the Netflix series, the book was adapted for the screen by Jack Thorne, co-writer of “Adolescence,” which was ALSO FICTION. Not a documentary!
These twin visceral, dystopian soap operas about how horrible kids are when left to their own devices — left with not enough adult supervision — have a tendency to seep under the skin because they are so dramatic and shocking.
I just wish there was some way to dramatize how depressing it is to grow up with CONSTANT adult supervision. (Actually, this Ben Sasse oped does a great job of that.) Mental health problems are soaring among kids and we keep hearing about how little they are allowed to do on their own. 50% of parents won’t let their kids, 9-11, go to another aisle at the store.
That stat is NOT FICTION. It could be what’s crippling a generation with anxiety. But it is not DRAMATIC, so we just keep perseverating on how badly kids behave when they’re not in travel soccer.
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Above are the actual Tongan castaways. I’m not sure how long after their rescue they were photographed. Below is a still from the Netflix Lord of the Flies:
