Former Gifted Child
This submission is currently being researched & evaluated!
You can help confirm this entry by contributing facts, media, and other evidence of notability and mutation.
About
Former Gifted Child sometimes called Formerly Gifted Child refers to memes and discussions about people who consider themselves to have been gifted or intelligent when they were younger. This self-conceptualization is often paired with the concession that one is no longer as bright as one thinks they were. Laments about being a "formerly gifted child" are sometimes met with criticism on the assumption that "formerly gifted" adults are overstating the importance of their childhood accomplishments.
Origin
A May 5th, 2013 post on /r/AskReddit[1] posed the question, "Redditors who were labelled as "gifted" children, do you think the label harmed you, or helped you?" The post received several responses from Redditors who identified as "formerly gifted" children who were harmed by the trope because they did not live up to expectations set up for them.
Discussions about being a "former gifted child" also gained traction on Tumblr[2] in the mid-2010s, as seen in a post by Tumblr user youbuiltcathedrals from July 29th, 2016 (seen below).
![youbuiltcathedrals if u were a gifted/talented child who grew into an anxious adult w fragile self worth and a perfectionist streak that makes u abandon things if ur not good at them immediately clap ur hands #IT ME 344,098 notes Jul 29th, 2016 : t]](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/768/397/f1e.png "Former Gifted Child")
Spread
By the late 2010s, criticism of the phrase "former gifted child" began to gain traction, as noted by a Tumblr[4] post by prokopetz from November 9th, 2018, gathering over 140,000 notes in six years (seen below).
![What y'all think 'gifted child' discourse is saying: I used to be special and now I'm not and that makes me sad. What 'gifted child' discourse is ACTUALLY saying: The way many educational systems treat children who've been identified as 'gifted' is actively harmful in that it a. obliges kids to give up socialising with their same-age peers in favour of constantly courting the approval of adult 'mentors' who mostly don't give a s--- about them, b. demands that they tie their entire identity to a set of standards that's not merely unsustainable, but intentionally so, because its unstated purpose is to weed out the 'unworthy' rather than to provide useful goals for self-improvement, and c. denies them opportunities to learn useful life skills in favour of training them up in an excruciatingly narrow academic skill-set that's basically useless outside of an institutional career path that the vast majority of them will never be allowed to pursue. #school #education #discourse #swearing 142,521 notes Nov 9th, 2018 : t]](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/768/396/e43.png "Former Gifted Child")
On October 28th, 2019, X[3] user @HotMusicTakes made a post that read, "You are not a. "Former Gifted Child" you got called smart Once by an. English teacher for reading Of Mice And Men fast," gathering over 1,500 likes in five years (seen below).
A post by X[5] user @HollyStallcup from September 5th, 2023 read, "FYI to high achievers/straight A-ers/gifted and talented-ers, my therapist says a lot of us get existential this time of year because our whole lives revolved around school and our bodies don't know what to do without it" (seen below, top). The post gathered over 11,000 likes in six months, but also garnered some mockery, as seen in a parody post by @_unwell on X[6] (seen below, bottom).
Various Examples
Search Interest
Unavailable.
External References
[1] Reddit – /r/AskReddit
[2] Tumblr – youbuiltcathedrals
[3] X – HotMusicTakes
[5] X – HollyStallcup
Recent Videos
There are no videos currently available.
![youbuiltcathedrals if u were a gifted/talented child who grew into an anxious adult w fragile self worth and a perfectionist streak that makes u abandon things if ur not good at them immediately clap ur hands #IT ME 344,098 notes Jul 29th, 2016 : t]](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/002/768/397/f1e.png "Former Gifted Child")
![What y'all think 'gifted child' discourse is saying: I used to be special and now I'm not and that makes me sad. What 'gifted child' discourse is ACTUALLY saying: The way many educational systems treat children who've been identified as 'gifted' is actively harmful in that it a. obliges kids to give up socialising with their same-age peers in favour of constantly courting the approval of adult 'mentors' who mostly don't give a s--- about them, b. demands that they tie their entire identity to a set of standards that's not merely unsustainable, but intentionally so, because its unstated purpose is to weed out the 'unworthy' rather than to provide useful goals for self-improvement, and c. denies them opportunities to learn useful life skills in favour of training them up in an excruciatingly narrow academic skill-set that's basically useless outside of an institutional career path that the vast majority of them will never be allowed to pursue. #school #education #discourse #swearing 142,521 notes Nov 9th, 2018 : t]](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/002/768/396/e43.png "Former Gifted Child")
Top Comments
proteronhysteron
Mar 04, 2024 at 07:43PM EST
Matsuo_kun
Mar 05, 2024 at 12:39AM EST