I am genuinely worried about kids and teens today (present, children, conversation)
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When the printing press was invented, critics said the same thing: its going to ruin society, the young generation is doomed, books were evil tools to brainwash youth and turn their brains to mush.
And in some ways they were right - for instance, the written word did eliminate the oral storytelling tradition, and with it some skills required for it, like incredible memory and oral mastery. Same thing with radio, TV, telephone - each time a new technology comes out, somethin progresses and other things regress or get eliminated. This is not a new story but simply the price of progress, just like in nature, evolution is always working and some traits evolve while others disappear. Whether any of it is good or bad is a pointless debate; the other alternative is for society to remain static, which is not going to happen and would likely lead to demise if it did. It's okay for us to experiment and to move forward, and if some things are eventually recognized as harmful, thats just part of it, that's how we learn from our mistakes - as happened with smoking, environmental damage, or the organic food movement, for instance. But we're not all doomed because of cell phones
i'm on the OP's side on this one. yes there are responsible parents out there that ARE limiting the time their kids spend on their phones/computers/etc. but what about the ones that AREN'T? those kids are now occupying customer service jobs & have no idea how to deal face to face with customers. or how to resolve conflict with co-workers/customers/friends. & my pet peeve - what is appropriate to wear to the workplace in front of customers. it's rare to find a teenager that actually HELPS you in a store anymore. they tend to point "it's over there", or smack their gum at me while answering my question, or tell me "i don't know" but don't offer to find someone that does know.
do i think we're doomed as a society? no, but i do believe all parents need to set a good example for their kids & actually parent them.
The cell phones really are a problem in the workplace -- not just with kids though. I've actually seen employees who should be assisting customers have to stop and answer their cell phones. Or they're more interested in the you-tube video than they are in doing work.
Books and even television didn't have 11 year olds "sexting" naked pictures of themselves to all their friends and parents are not monitoring much of what is going on when it comes to kids' smart phones.
And there is also the childhood obesity epidemic because kids spend very little time outdoors playing. There are predictions that because of obesity, this generation will see a shortened lifespan.
If kids don't get out and expand their lung capacity while they still have cartilege, they will end up with smaller rib cages and they won't be able to undo that damage later on.
I feel ya, OP. I'm 24, and I grew up just in front of the real technology boom. I was listening to c-d's on the bus to school, mp3 was a new thing(where a 256mb player was considered pretty good). Video games were very basic compared to where they are now, internet was slow(at least for me), it was a simpler time. Me and my friends would all chat on instant message at night during the week (especially with girls who were in a school across the street), but we would also be interacting with one another all day every day, technology was not nearly as huge a part of life. There was a good balance.
I know for sure that I would have developed differently had modern ipads, iphones, video games, tv's, netflix and internet been around. I had to amuse myself by going outside, playing sports, hanging out with friends, chasing girls around, etc. It's way too easy nowadays to be amused by technology and forgo the rest of it. I've noticed this affect happening to me, and I didn't even grow up with it.
I'm in college at the moment and surrounded by 18-20 year olds, and I can tell a difference between us beyond the normal maturity difference. I can't imagine what the current 9-12 year olds will grow into, we'll see.
I don't think growing up too fast is the issue, I think it's the opposite. Way back in the old days, by the time you were 13 you were married and having kids. Now that's growing up fast.
In recent years, the young ones have been spending too much time using electronic devices to the point where we are raising a generation that will lack proper social skills and require psychiatric help.
I have noticed that young beings who aren't at least in their twenties today are without the ability of standard communication skills and sometimes have parents who are oblivious to the damage that has been inflicted onto society.
Aside from the addiction problems discussed in that Telegraph article, there are also concerns with the content that today's young have access to. For example, teenagers shouldn't be able to view pornographic material, but with unsupervised internet access...they are only a click away from such mature content.
The media doesn't help them much either, when their role models are the likes of Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus. Today's teenagers have grown up too fast with concepts that they are simply too premature to comprehend.
If you are wondering how this is my problem...if I want to continue living life, I have to live in a world with beings who operate more similarly to robots than to analog-lifestyle humans of the past.
You may think that my robot comment is an exaggeration - but this is a serious problem as we dive deeper into the digital world of today. The more kids are glued to their gadgets - the more robotic and less humanly they'll become.
Well, that is a big concern, and I believe one of the hidden links to problems like ADD, etc. Another concern parents should have is this: iPad Radiation (EMFs) - How To Reduce Your Exposure | www.electricsense.com. So if you think it's a-okay regardless of the OP's observations/concerns, at least limit the tots for the reality of the health concerns!
The vast majority of workers today are tied to electronic gadgets. I can't imagine trying to do my job without the two computers in my office, my laptops and my iPhone. It just isn't the kids of today that are tied to electronic gadgets. It is the way of the world in the 21st century.
The cell phones really are a problem in the workplace -- not just with kids though. I've actually seen employees who should be assisting customers have to stop and answer their cell phones. Or they're more interested in the you-tube video than they are in doing work.
Books and even television didn't have 11 year olds "sexting" naked pictures of themselves to all their friends and parents are not monitoring much of what is going on when it comes to kids' smart phones.
And there is also the childhood obesity epidemic because kids spend very little time outdoors playing. There are predictions that because of obesity, this generation will see a shortened lifespan.
If kids don't get out and expand their lung capacity while they still have cartilege, they will end up with smaller rib cages and they won't be able to undo that damage later on.
In recent years, the young ones have been spending too much time using electronic devices to the point where we are raising a generation that will lack proper social skills and require psychiatric help.
The flaw with the above statement is the assumption that social skills are equivalent to the laws of nature when in reality social skills are merely social constructs and have no real impact on the ability of human beings to survive on this planet.
The laws of nature are immutable while social constructs are actually unnecessary for life on earth.
And there is also the childhood obesity epidemic because kids spend very little time outdoors playing. There are predictions that because of obesity, this generation will see a shortened lifespan.
If kids don't get out and expand their lung capacity while they still have cartilege, they will end up with smaller rib cages and they won't be able to undo that damage later on.
Smaller rib cages will require less materials to clothe, thus reducing the cost of clothes in the future. Americans are getting way too big-boned these days. I say anything that may shrink the bodies of Americans in the future is a good thing.
They have done studies in Japan that have results showing that young men prefer their anime girlfriend to a real woman - and that both sexes are not interested in sex at all, in alarming numbers. I think Japan has always been out there a little ahead of the US in tech - so can see that coming here.
I don't see this happening in the United States. The US is way too obsessed with sex.
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