18AR23-05

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AR 23:5 - The demographics of paranormal belief

In this issue:

DIALOG - the poison fruit of social media

FEAR - believers in the paranormal tend to have lower incomes and be highly religious (but only infrequently attend church)

MARRIAGE - a problematic pattern that's "likely to reach every corner of the globe"

Apologia Report 23:5 (1,371)

February 14, 2018

DIALOG

In past issues of Apologia Report, interfaith "dialog" has often turned up in which, more often than not, pluralists don't wish to contend with exclusivists. Imagine the conflagration these two opposing camps would ignite if they could only encounter one another via social media.

Few missed the news last December when at least three former Facebook executives expressed concern about the vast harm social media are causing. The UK's Independent summarized the issue: "You know things are bad when even Facebook admits it." <www.goo.gl/N2vrm3>

The Washington Post (Dec 15 '17) adds that "the research Facebook highlighted - that the mere act of scrolling through Facebook frequently - seems to suggest that even basic use of the product can have a bad effect on people. 'The very basis of the business model is addiction,' [early Facebook investor Roger McNamee] said."

The Post item profiles Chamath Palihapitiya, Facebook's former "head of growth [who] felt 'tremendous guilt,' about the products he built because they were addictive and were 'ripping apart' society." Being quite clear in his concern: "'The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops we've created are destroying how society works,' said Palihapitiya, speaking of Facebook and other social media companies, during [his] Stanford talk." <www.goo.gl/7AAxZs>

Consider the implications for dialog. We close with Palihapitiya's observation that social media fosters "No civil discourse, no cooperation; misinformation, mistruth. And it's not an American problem - this is not about Russians ads. This is a global problem." <www.goo.gl/cy2JLx> By the way, Happy Valentine's Day.

When will we get off this treadmill? As it was with their parents and grandparents, pleasure smothers purpose as new video signal forms are fed to screens everywhere encouraging the mind rot of the next generation.

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FEAR

"Chapman Survey 2017" (no byline) -- This news item from the Jan/Feb '18 issue of Skeptical Inquirer (p5) begins: "The 2017 Chapman University Survey of American Fears <www.goo.gl/N5frro> came out in October with its annual in-depth examination into the fears of average Americans. A random sample of 1,207 adults from across the United States were asked their level of fear about eighty different fears across a wide variety of topics.

"The top ten fears of 2017 were corruption of government officials (74 percent); American Healthcare Act/Trumpcare (55 percent); pollution of oceans, rivers, and lakes (53 percent); pollution of drinking water (50 percent); not having enough money for the future (50 percent); high medical bills (48 percent); the United States will be involved in another world war (48 percent); global warming and climate change (48 percent); North Korea using nuclear weapons (48 percent); and air pollution (45 percent)."

The survey also included "a battery of items asking about paranormal beliefs. ... The results show that the most common belief is that ancient advanced civilizations such as Atlantis once existed (55 percent). Next was that places can be haunted by spirits (52 percent), aliens have visited Earth in our ancient past (35 percent), aliens have come to Earth in modern times (26 percent), some people can move objects with their minds (25 percent), fortune tellers and psychics can survey the future (19 percent), and Bigfoot is a real creature (16 percent). Only one-fourth of respondents didn't hold at least one of these beliefs. ...

"Perhaps of slightly more interest, the survey examined the extent to which fifteen personal characteristics (such as age, gender, biblical literalism, political preference, religious tradition, etc.) were related to holding paranormal beliefs.

"The survey found that people with the highest levels of paranormal belief tend to have or be: lower income, highly religious, attend religious services infrequently, female, conservative, living in a rural area, and a West Coast resident."

Also see <www.goo.gl/4kiVf7>

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MARRIAGE

The Economist news magazine devoted an astounding 12+ pages to concerns about marriage on a global scale in its November 23 issue. The page 16 introduction, "A More Perfect Union," summarizes: "Wedlock is more rewarding than ever - and also more upmarket. That is a problem. ...

"The most benign changes are taking place in poor and middle-income countries (where most people live). ...

"The worrying part is what is going on in rich countries. In the West marriage is in excellent shape, but only among the well-off. ... Among the college-educated in America, only 12% of births are to unmarried mothers; among those who dropped out of high school, the rate is 70%, up from 43% in the early 1980s. Similar trends can be seen across the wealthy world: the average out-of-wedlock birth rate for OECD countries is 40%. ...

"One study in America found that 18% of married couples broke up within five years of a birth, compared with 47% of cohabiting couples.

"Children from stable backgrounds tend to do better in school and life - and are more likely to form stable unions of their own. Add the trend towards 'assortative mating', when high-achievers marry other high-achievers, and the gap between elite and working-class families yawns. ...

"Improbable as it may seem, this pattern is likely to reach every corner of the globe." <www.goo.gl/VcXaEc>

The "special report" section on the subject (pSR3) announces that marriage is "becoming even more important" for success in the West.

Meanwhile, "a shortage of brides is bending Chinese society out of shape" (pSR10). One key finding: about 43% of men who have never been married at age 35-39 are illiterate. Another 13% of the same age group have only attended primary school. In addition, "bride price inflation" can now amount to the equivalent of "a respectable annual salary." And, "men are now considered shopworn if they are unmarried at 25. By contrast, no woman is thought too old to marry; even widows have no difficulty in finding husbands. [M]any rural Chinese families have already come to view sons more as economic burdens than as security for their old age."

Last, with divorce more convenient than ever, the marriage special feature ends with a two-page section on parenthood (pSR11-12), which sadly emphasizes: "Marriage, it turns out, is still the best place for children." Why is anyone surprised?

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