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Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

theatlantic.com

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Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#11

Post by ekianjo »

rhcom2 wrote: post #4
sushid wrote: 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.

> The ability for addiction seems to indicate, to me at least, that the smartphone might be different.

Why is it different? Don't you remember folks sitting in front of TVs the whole day or night about 20 years back?

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#12

Post by shubhamjain »

I would like to think that at some point we would be able to look at the thousands of such claims made over hundreds of generation and admit that "this-generation-is-doomed" is a dumb rhetoric. If end-goal is human prosperity, how does it matter if some fad is getting popular among teenagers. What we should be looking at is trends.

Are smartphones inhibiting innovation by being addictive? I don't think so.

Although, an argument to be made against them is that they can induce FOMO-related stress than it was possible before. However, it seems to be double-edged sword. Exposure to more success is a simple result of people getting more connected. The plus-side of which is the wealth of information and experiences we have access to today.

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#13

Post by EZ-E »

sushid wrote: post #3

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

It seems almost silly that 20 years ago, TV addiction was a huge thing. Nowadays who would get addicted to TV when you have tablets and smartphone who do TV plus one thousand other things

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#14

Post by majewsky »

danboarder wrote: post #2

Its a safe bet to say No... Betteridge's law of headlines is one name for an adage that states: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no." * from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headli...

And you just invoked tome's law: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9077549

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#15

Post by xxxdarrenxxx »

It's not the words that matter, but the body language, the look in the person eyes, when the person says something. If he nervously ticks with his fingers, or get red in the face at something shameful. The smile at your joke accompanied with that one guy who laughs with a funny sound, but is accepted anyway. The disbelief in someone's eyes, or a subtle wink to compliment you.

I do not like a text only world. Me and my friend are both big geek late 80's kids who got both worlds. We love computers and spend a lot off time with them, but we spend once a week physically together to hang out, even though we have our own private chat server.

This body language/physical presence and in context lack there-off with phone convo's might be a big part in it all..

Another example I have;

When I had to work abroad for a few months, I texted my girlfriend almost daily, but it was not until I came back, the very first sight and hug at the airport, that I felt first contact again, even though we technically had contact all the same through chat. It mattered none with one hug. I think this is not just because we are romantically engaged, and I believe this factor is relevant in every type of relationship to certain degrees.

tldr;

body-language is where the magic lies

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#16

Post by LacertineForest »

ekianjo wrote: post #11
rhcom2 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> The ability for addiction seems to indicate, to me at least, that the smartphone might be different. Why is it different? Don't you remember folks sitting in front of TVs the whole day or night about 20 years back?

I think the difference is that you can't take a TV everywhere you go. Smartphones are ever-present. I agree with the comments that video games and TV can be just as addictive, it's just that, as the article points out, phones are often the first and last thing kids see each day.

I generally dislike framing entire generations as "doomed", but the data presented do at least suggest reason for concern. I actually read the article thinking that it is already/will get better over time with awareness, at least as it pertains to smartphone usage.

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#17

Post by mping »

ekianjo wrote: post #11
rhcom2 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> The ability for addiction seems to indicate, to me at least, that the smartphone might be different. Why is it different? Don't you remember folks sitting in front of TVs the whole day or night about 20 years back?

And back in the day TV was mostly passive. smartphone lets you choose what and when you want to do things.

If one looks at mental illness evolution, one might guess how different generations are across time; not necessarily caused by smartphones but surely and indicator of a generation's mental health.

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#18

Post by ellius »

rhcom2 wrote: post #4
sushid wrote: 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.

Yeah I actually read the whole thing, the title is a terrible reflection of the actual content, which is thoughtful and makes no grand implications about a “ruined generation.”

Re: Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

#19

Post by coffee9 »

crooked-v wrote: post #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 contradic…

Certainly the parents are completely blameless.
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