A 22-year-old British man most famous for his Instagram posts has made global headlines this weekend for saying that World War II education should be taught less, out of concern for the mental well being of children in schools.
In a recent debate on “Good Morning Britain,” Instagram star Freddie Bently implied an overemphasis on history lessons from World War II would cause children to miss out on learning more practical skills such as budgeting, Business Insider reported.
“I don’t think it needs to be in such a young way to young children. Like, mentally. Mental health, to be told this certain amount of people died for you,” he said. “I just learned, as a child, it’s so intense.”
Speaking on the rise of mental health issues in the country, the “Instagram influencer” – someone who has a large following on the social media platform – insinuated that learning about the Holocaust and the 70 million people who died in the war will only perpetuate the mental health issues people are experiencing.
“I don’t think encouraging death or telling how many people died in a world war is going to help,” Bentley said.
Notably, one “Good Morning Britain” host claimed that she had spoken to people who said learning about World War II has helped them deal with their mental health, saying it helped them “put it into perspective.”
Bently doubled down on his point in a post on Instagram the following day and said, “[World War II] needs to be taught in moderation to promote mental health and focus on teaching young people real life skills and to prepare for current issues that are relevant to us such as how to get a mortgage, what are the real impact of Brexit and climate change for future generation!”
The debate began when contestants on the United Kingdom’s version of “The Apprentice” failed to know what year World War II began. The start of the major global conflict is largely attributed to Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939.
