Live data from Hacker News

Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

theatlantic.com

1–10 of 21 posts

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#4
post #3

Only as much as TVs, newspapers, radios, and hell, the Greek theater have destroyed generations.

Avoiding the silly title, a better question is the smartphone fundamentally different then those other mediums? The ability for addiction seems to indicate, to me at least, that the smartphone might be different.

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#5
First it was Generation Me in 2006 [1], then The Narcissism Epidemic in 2010 [2], and now iGen in 2017 [3]. All three books follow exactly the same pattern: stick a vapid and insulting nickname onto the latest generation, call that generation lonely and narcissistic, and blame it all on the latest technological innovations while completely ignoring the broader economic and social context. Each book directly contradicts the previous one and directly contracts her own previous studies [4], while simply reusing the same arguments and switching the target from generation to generation.

[1]: https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Americans-Confident-Assert...

[2]: https://www.amazon.com/Narcissism-Epidemic-Living-Age-Entitl...

[3]: https://www.amazon.com/iGen-Super-Connected-Rebellious-Happy...

[4] https://www.livescience.com/52771-why-teens-are-happy-adults... "Very quickly, Twenge said, a pattern emerged: The eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders of today are happier than the eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders of previous decades."

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#6
post #4
post #3

Only as much as TVs, newspapers, radios, and hell, the Greek theater have destroyed generations.

Avoiding the silly title, a better question is the smartphone fundamentally different then those other mediums? The ability for addiction seems to indicate, to me at least, that the smartphone might be different.

You can become addicted to TV and this is widely portrayed in arts and entertainment

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#7
post #4
post #3

Only as much as TVs, newspapers, radios, and hell, the Greek theater have destroyed generations.

Avoiding the silly title, a better question is the smartphone fundamentally different then those other mediums? The ability for addiction seems to indicate, to me at least, that the smartphone might be different.

I think television and video games can be just as addictive.

Edit: And video games don't enable me to call my parents, look up a recipe, or check a map.

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#9

First it was Generation Me in 2006 [1], then The Narcissism Epidemic in 2010 [2], and now iGen in 2017 [3]. All three books follow exactly the same pattern: stick a vapid and insulting nickname onto the latest generation, call that generation lonely and narcissistic, and blame it all on the latest technological innovations while completely ignoring the broader economic and social context. Each book directly contradic…

Also, the whole "article" is an obvious advertisement for the author's book, your link #3.

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#10

First it was Generation Me in 2006 [1], then The Narcissism Epidemic in 2010 [2], and now iGen in 2017 [3]. All three books follow exactly the same pattern: stick a vapid and insulting nickname onto the latest generation, call that generation lonely and narcissistic, and blame it all on the latest technological innovations while completely ignoring the broader economic and social context. Each book directly contradic…

I don't have the luxury to pay attention to most media or opinions administered by anyone older than 45, neuroplasticity loss can be really blatant when paired with decades of alcohol use, and they're all going to be dead or vegetative by the time a crisis comes, where in the past wiser and less pampered elders could have led us.
Post reply on HN