How Industrialization Changed Childhood | Dorsa Amir | TEDxCambridge

Summary

The speaker reflects on her fieldwork with the Shuar people in the Ecuadorian Amazon, observing their children's independence and self-sufficiency. She contrasts this with Western childhood, noting a rapid cultural shift that may have outpaced our evolutionary development. She discusses the 'evolutionary mismatch' and the importance of unstructured play in child development, suggesting that Western practices may inadvertently hinder the natural development of essential life skills.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Anthropology's goal is to make the unfamiliar familiar and vice versa, which became clear to the speaker through fieldwork with the Shuar people.
• 🌿 In small-scale societies like the Shuar, children are more independent, gathering food and preparing it for themselves and their siblings.
• 🏡 The culture shock of returning to the United States made the speaker realize how different childhood is in Western societies compared to foraging societies.
• 🔄 There's a rapid change in the concept of childhood due to environmental changes, leading to a state of evolutionary mismatch.
• 🧬 Cultural evolution outpaces genetic evolution, suggesting our minds and bodies might be optimized for a world that no longer exists.
• 👶 Childhood across many small-scale societies shares common patterns such as natural birth, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and constant physical contact.
• 🔵 The Western society has deviated from these patterns with practices like C-sections, formula feeding, and valuing personal space.
• 👫 In small-scale societies, children form a complex mini-community with their own culture and leaders, which is crucial for their development.
• 🎓 Children learn essential life skills through play, which is a natural way for them to practice and perfect these skills.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Mixed-age play is beneficial as it allows children to teach and learn from each other, strengthening their skills.
• 🚫 Western practices may be undermining children's abilities to develop foundational skills like problem-solving by overly structuring their time and experiences.

Q & A

What was the primary goal of anthropology as mentioned in the script?

The primary goal of anthropology mentioned in the script is to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange.

Where did the speaker conduct their first fieldwork?

The speaker conducted their first fieldwork in the Ecuadorian Amazon, working with the Shuar, an indigenous population.

What did the speaker observe about childhood in the Shuar society?

The speaker observed that children in the Shuar society were more independent, often seen climbing trees for food, starting fires, preparing food, and using machetes confidently.

What was the unexpected culture shock experienced by the speaker?

The unexpected culture shock experienced by the speaker was upon returning to the United States, where the familiarity of home started to feel strange compared to the Shuar culture that had become more familiar.

What term is used to describe the rapid change in childhood in Western societies?

The term used to describe the rapid change in childhood in Western societies is 'evolutionary mismatch'.

How does the speaker suggest that cultural evolution differs from genetic evolution?

The speaker suggests that cultural evolution is much faster than genetic evolution, which can lead to a mismatch between our environment and our genes.

What common patterns does the speaker mention across small-scale societies like the Shuar?

Common patterns across small-scale societies include natural birth, breastfeeding for long periods, parents sleeping in the same room as children, and children being in constant physical contact with others.

Why is the child society in small-scale societies considered important for development?

The child society in small-scale societies is important for development because it allows children to learn a vast number of skills through unstructured play, teaching each other, and practicing foundational skills like creativity, determination, and problem-solving.

What are some of the differences the speaker notes between Western societies and small-scale societies in terms of child development?

In Western societies, children often spend time with peers of their own age in structured environments, whereas in small-scale societies, children are part of a mixed-age community with more unstructured play and less adult supervision.

What advice does the speaker give to counteract the effects of the mismatch environment in Western societies?

The speaker advises setting up more mixed-age play dates, giving children room to make mistakes, and allowing for more unstructured playtime to help children develop foundational skills.

How does the speaker suggest adults can also benefit from the lessons learned about child development?

The speaker suggests that adults can benefit by allowing themselves to make mistakes, spending time with people of different ages, and engaging in unstructured activities to continue their own development.