Fireside Chat Ep. 112 — Why Are Students so Depressed? | Fireside Chat

This week, Dennis Prager addresses why the rates of depression among college students are the highest ever recorded. No desire to have a family, no religion, and contempt for America are several contributing factors to this rise.

0:00 Otto Is The Real Deal
1:19 Wearing A Jacket And Tie At Home
3:19 Depression Among College Students
4:00 There’s Nothing To Look Forward To
5:30 When Dennis Was In College
6:29 Dating Can Add A Lot To Life
8:47 Sex Week In College
9:55 Lack Of Religion
10:34 No Belief In America
12:10 So What Do You Have Left?
13:35 Cigarettes Don’t Play With Your Brain
14:20 Celebrate Your Country
15:09 A Video Question From Nigeria
16:33 What Keeps Dennis Going?
18:03 The Fight For Good To Prevail
18:54 Never Ask: What Can God Do For Me?
19:43 Normandy Beach Keeps Dennis Going
21:28 Dennis Loves Dark Humor
22:24 Hope For Conservative Ideas
23:18 What’s Wrong With Happy Holidays?
26:09 Lack Of Male Role Models
27:54 Every Country Lives On Stolen Land
29:25 The Secret To Longevity
34:32 Fireside Chats Are Important

[johnmivule-novabow]

We need to change what is being tought in school, and teach students HOW TO THINK, not WHAT TO THINK

[ErichLRuehs]

Ironically, Otto wears a jacket and tie when not filming!

[Aaron-xndg]

People also need to distinguish between being diagnosed with depression and just being sad, some people go through a hardship get sad and state they have depression which is just not true...

[cjr]

Having been a student since 2003 (undergrad senior now), I can say that school has certainly changed a lot since I first started. Over my lifetime, I've seen school transform from a place of learning into being like prison. It used to be that getting in trouble at school was akin to getting in trouble with your parents, but not so anymore!

Gradeschool is a place where doing normal things (such as taking a pill if you are sick, sharing food with your friends, having a tableknife in your lunchbox, walking through the hallway without a pass, etc) is strictly punished. Everything you do is tightly controlled, and every step you take requires permission. Failure to yield to ridiculous punishments for doing normal people things can even result in legal charges of truancy for high schoolers, who are either 18 years old or old enough to be tried as a adults, and this can have lifelong consequences for them.

Now with school shootings, things have gotten even worse. Students spend the majority of their young lives in an Orwellian environment that constantly monitors and regulates every breath they take. Going to school these days looks a lot like getting through security at an airport. Personal property is not safe, personal space is not respected, and socializing with others is difficult in an overwhelming culture of mistrust among peers.

Add to this mess the increasingly dystopian, leftist indoctrination that students receive, and nobody should be surprised why students are depressed. Students have been literally weened on the idea that the world is ending, that it is their fault, and that they will never ever get anywhere in life because society hates them.

And we wonder why young men want to bring a gun to school and kill everyone....

[ernestimken]

Students live in an atmosphere of personal confusion brought on by teaching of "if it feels good, do it" and "your truth is not my truth". Morals are gone and for some there wasn't any structured family experience in their childhood such as day care when they were infants and toddlers or absentee moms and dads. This leaves them emotionally lonely and depressed. Maybe they need remedial social studies of family relations or a loving family to live with instead of a sexually wild dormitory.

[suggesttwo]

Torah means instruction and guidance. This is why Jordan Peterson has a great following. They are starving for someone to show them the way.

[bobmassey]

" I want to influence people to the Good." Congratulations Dennis. Been watching and listening to you for a little over a year now. I appreciate what you do. What I have seen in your programming is the encouraging and advocating for what is good. I thank you for what you do.

[perishark]

This is the first fireside chat that ive watched from start to finish and i wanna say thank you Mr. Prager. I'm a 5th year college student and what u said about college gave me some peace because i havent heard another person say what was always in my head but unable to say it.

[wpappy]

When you're young is when you should not be deppressed. Your body is in the best condition it will ever be in, and you have boundless energy for your pursuits...

[ragnarlothbrook]

I’m 25 years old. My generation is sad. Bunch of weak babies that feel like they deserve the world without any work. And all these people that think it’s so bad here. Please leave so we can have people who wanna be here!

[j.w.matney]

They're depressed because from birth until age 18, they lived a very sheltered life. Then they learn the world doesn't care about their happiness.

[yummyzerg]

5:30 That hits hard. I know all of my friends from studying together. WE play pool sometimes, and that's it. I also don't belong to anything - I live in New York, and it feels really weird to know that I feel no sense of community or belonging in the place I was born and have lived all my life.

[mercurialmessenger]

One of the main reasons students are depressed is because they grew up in fatherless homes with single mothers who are medicated. Having a single mother would make anyone depressed.

[joshuamark]

I'm depressed because I had 14.7 hours of homework last weekend. I'm in 9th grade.

[doritoreiss]

What on earth is “sex week” at college? I’ve never heard of such a thing (and I went to 3 different colleges).

[jeromerademacher]

Dennis, I started listening to your Fireside chats at about number 29 and I make it a point to listen every week. I enjoy listening to a person who is intelligent, well read and very thoughtful and has strong reasoning skills. I have had many mentors over my 70 years and have always marveled at their clarity of thinking. I wish I knew how they developed that skill so we could begin teaching it to the next generation. Our youth are not taught the skill of thinking for themselves and rationally analyzing information. They seem to be taught the opposite and are discouraged from questioning anything anymore. Group think is a very destructive thing. Just look at the main stream media today. Thank you for what you do everyday. You are a blessing to the world and I am thankful to have found you and PragerU.

[eileenalholinna]

Mr. Prager, you make so much sense! I love your chats, and I love Otto! I agree with you about why college students are so depressed.

[sampotter]

Regarding college students and depression - I teach college classes & I totally agree! They are all too often oddly cynical, depressed, extremely anxious and unsure of themselves.

[possiblepilotdeviation]

I just got a B, B+, and an A in grad school for Physics. I'm not depressed at all!

[Fistfullofpizza]

Thank God that you keep going. Your message is heard throughout the world and speaking for myself, it is warmly welcomed. Thank you.