Jul 16, 2026 · 25 min · 13 segments
James McLanmb joins the show today. He is the founder of Generation Youth, and in this conversation we get into why removing obstacles for young people backfires, what 2,500 interviews with teens…
James McLambGuest
John EadsHost
Well, not every one of our audience members has teenagers, or has youth, but we all were a teenager or we all were youthful at one point.
What's changed the most in today's teenagers and what they're up against, versus maybe when you or I were of that age?
You know, where do I belong? Where are my people? Where are my tribe? How do I get along with them? We still struggle with our, why am I here? Wanting to answer to that question, why am I here and how do I accomplish those goals of that? Those core issues are pretty much eternal.
Those are the same things that you can find a hundred years ago in writing 70 years ago when television started emerging and family sitcoms, you can find all those themes.
What has changed is how they are manifested, how they are brought to the table, how we're seeing them.
At age 57, obviously when I was coming through high school, we didn't have technology to the level we have now.
We still struggle with these identity problems, but it looked differently on how it happened to us.
So today's teens still struggling with the same three core issues, but they have all these other factors that are amplifying it.
You know, if you and I were struggling with identity as we were growing up, we were maybe comparing ourselves to some athlete we saw on television or maybe somebody in school.
This is the most connected generation in the history of our planet, yet it's the loneliest generation too.
So these things that we created for young people, we created a world for them that we thought was going to give them so much advantages over us, push them so farther ahead, make them smarter, stronger, more confident, all these things.
And we threw them into this world that we created and we didn't even know how to live in it and we expected someone with a developing brain and cognitive ability to be able to manage it so now we're seeing the implications of it hey i still need these answers these struggles but i can't even figure out how to you know Manage my smartphone or I don't even know how to manage all the technological things that are happened to me or how I connect with folks.
The way they are brought to young people are quite are so different and it changes rapidly.
Well, not every one of our audience members has teenagers, or has youth, but we all were a teenager or we all were youthful at one point.
What's changed the most in today's teenagers and what they're up against, versus maybe when you or I were of that age?
You know, where do I belong? Where are my people? Where are my tribe? How do I get along with them? We still struggle with our, why am I here? Wanting to answer to that question, why am I here and how do I accomplish those goals of that? Those core issues are pretty much eternal.
Those are the same things that you can find a hundred years ago in writing 70 years ago when television started emerging and family sitcoms, you can find all those themes.
What has changed is how they are manifested, how they are brought to the table, how we're seeing them.
At age 57, obviously when I was coming through high school, we didn't have technology to the level we have now.
We still struggle with these identity problems, but it looked differently on how it happened to us.
So today's teens still struggling with the same three core issues, but they have all these other factors that are amplifying it.
You know, if you and I were struggling with identity as we were growing up, we were maybe comparing ourselves to some athlete we saw on television or maybe somebody in school.
This is the most connected generation in the history of our planet, yet it's the loneliest generation too.
So these things that we created for young people, we created a world for them that we thought was going to give them so much advantages over us, push them so farther ahead, make them smarter, stronger, more confident, all these things.
And we threw them into this world that we created and we didn't even know how to live in it and we expected someone with a developing brain and cognitive ability to be able to manage it so now we're seeing the implications of it hey i still need these answers these struggles but i can't even figure out how to you know Manage my smartphone or I don't even know how to manage all the technological things that are happened to me or how I connect with folks.
The way they are brought to young people are quite are so different and it changes rapidly.
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3 of 5
Connected Yet Loneliest Generation
He diagnoses teens' biggest hidden struggle today.
Turtle on Fence Post
He recalls a life-changing college realization.
Lawnmower Parents & Failure
He explains why removing obstacles backfires.
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