Hi! I am seeking expert quotes on individuals who lack common sense. Here are my questions: - There seems to be a perception that common sense is lost in young people. How true is this? - If so, what is a contributing factor? Are they showing specific traits that led to this conclusion? Or perhaps it’s the environment they grew up in? - What is the most effective way to deal with someone lacking common sense, especially those whose behaviors could cause potential harm to others? REQUIREMENTS: Sociologists, behavior experts, licensed therapists, and other related professionals ONLY.

While I have observed some generational differences in skills, rather than viewing this as a generational deficit in common sense, it's more productive to examine the developmental factors that shape practical decision-making skills in young people. In my work as a child psychologist, I've observed that children's ability to handle life's challenges and develop resilience is significantly influenced by their parents' mental health and parenting approach. When parents model empathy, mindfulness, and strong personal boundaries, children are better equipped to develop the practical reasoning skills often described as common sense. The environment young people grow up in plays a crucial role in building these capabilities and parents can best support these skills by encouraging independence, setting boundaries, and utilizing cause and effect discipline strategies that support each child's unique needs and give them feedback about their impact in the world and encourage problem solving.

Look, teenage brains are still under construction. That's why they do dumb stuff sometimes, not because they're stupid. I've noticed it gets worse when the adults around them are inconsistent or there are no real consequences. And yeah, their friends matter a lot. When safety's on the line, you need firm but fair rules. Kids actually thrive when they know the boundaries and get praised for making good choices.

From a coaching angle, the idea that "young people lack common sense" is mostly a perception bias. Common sense is really a set of practical shortcuts we pick up through experience. Because cultural norms—especially around tech—change so fast, what feels obvious to older adults can look odd to younger folks. Media also amplifies the rare missteps that get attention, making them seem more common than they are. Two main forces shape this gap. Developmentally, the brain region that handles impulse control keeps maturing into the mid-20s, so younger adults naturally make more snap judgments. At the same time, growing up with instant information limits the trial-and-error learning that traditionally builds practical wisdom. Environmentally, overly scripted schools and echo-chambered online circles reduce opportunities for autonomous problem-solving and expose people to narrow viewpoints. When you're working with someone who seems to lack common sense—especially if their actions could be dangerous—focus on building reflective habits. Teach a simple "pause-check-act" routine so they evaluate consequences before acting. Use low-stakes simulations or role-plays to give them safe practice with real-world scenarios. Give immediate, specific feedback linked to observable behaviour and suggest ways to improve. If safety is at risk, intervene first to contain the danger, then turn the incident into a learning moment rather than a punishment. In short, treat common sense as a skill you can develop. Identify whether the issue stems more from brain development, lack of varied experience, or a restrictive environment, and then use concrete, practice-based techniques to strengthen the person's practical judgment. This approach helps anyone—young or old—make smarter, safer decisions.

In my practice as a child and adult psychiatrist, I have noticed something significant: what often is called a "lack of common sense" in my young patients is rarely about their intelligence or their cognitive abilities. More often, it is about the environment their minds are growing up in. Today's adolescents and young adults are being raised on their phones and are being trained by their own self- fulfilling algorithms. Their social media feeds are curated, filtered and carefully chosen algorithmically to reinforce the psychological bubble that they live in. This leads them to repeatedly see the same opinions, ideas and analyses, many of which are not even true, but simply reinforce what they already believe. This eventually shapes their understand of what is "normal" to them. Social media has created a psychological environment that is not only often not real, but also extreme. The reason is simple: contents that gets attention online is designed to attract it, and more extreme opinions usually lead to more clicks. In my practice, I have been helping the patients understand the psychology behind the content they consume and the invisible forces that shape their opinions. I help them build perspective taking skills by considering the opposite of their own views through an exercise where they advocate for the opposite perspective. This allows them to place themselves in the shoes of the other side and understand, or at least attempt to understand, a different point of view.

We often mistake "common sense" for an instinct, but neurologically, it is a learned database of cause-and-effect. Young people have not "lost" this capacity; they have simply been starved of the experiences required to build it. Common sense is built through unstructured trial and error—getting lost, scraping a knee, or breaking a toy. When we curate a child's environment to be perfectly safe and predictable, we deny them the "micro-failures" necessary to develop judgment. The primary contributing factor is the decline of unsupervised play and the rise of "preventative parenting." In my psychiatry practice, I see teenagers who are brilliant academically but struggle to mail a package or read a room. This is because their prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain responsible for predicting consequences—is still developing, and they lack the real-world data points to inform it. We have replaced "street smarts" with "screen smarts," where problems are solved by a search bar rather than intuition. The most effective way to deal with someone who lacks common sense, especially if they pose a risk, is to stop relying on their logic and start relying on concrete boundaries. You cannot explain "why" something is dangerous to a brain that has never experienced danger; you must enforce "what" is allowed. If a person cannot predict that touching a hot stove burns, you don't lecture them on thermodynamics; you install a gate. In behavioral terms, you must act as their external frontal lobe until they build the internal data to keep themselves safe.

People doubt that young people have sufficient judgment skills because technology advances quickly while society undergoes rapid transformations. People who lack judgment skills base their decisions on unfamiliar values and different priorities. Young people use digital reasoning methods which prove ineffective when dealing with physical human interactions. People who experience high levels of stress and uncertainty while lacking life experience tend to develop this impression. The problem exists as multiple elements rather than being a characteristic of any particular age group. Young people fail to develop practical reasoning abilities because they spend most of their time online while having less opportunity for unstructured play. Young people face difficulties in managing their impulses because they must act right away during their time in public areas. Students require particular instructions from their teachers and parents to develop their ability to make independent choices. The unstable environment creates more impact on behavior than individual characteristics do. The way they view risk and responsibility affects how each factor influences their behavior. The solution needs to create organized systems instead of giving essential feedback. People understand their responsibilities better when they receive direct and particular instructions about their tasks. People need simplified safety procedures with supervision instead of receiving public criticism. People acquire new skills through the process of rewarding themselves after they make successful choices. People learn better long-term skills through peaceful demonstrations of correct actions instead of through aggressive interventions.