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On the Rise of Digital Addiction Activism

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Re: On the Rise of Digital Addiction Activism

#11

Post by UneasySausage »

grasshopperpurp wrote: post #10
phirschybar wrote: post #7

I agree that Apple is the wrong target. So is social media. I am not a doctor, but I am a parent. I think the problem is that kids cannot learn to cope with their problems and anxieties when they have zero idle time. Kids need time in the day to face and mentally process the social and hormonal challenges that they experience in everyday life. They simply cannot do this when all of their "boring" down-time is consume…

Please correct me, but it appears you're suggesting that the onus is on the kids to get better - not the adults or multi-billion dollar corporations.

I interpreted his message more as the onus is on us as the adults, together society, to help children (also ourselves) to cope, deal with, face, and process life's many challenges.

Re: On the Rise of Digital Addiction Activism

#13

Post by dantillberg »

amelius wrote: post #4

What I find funny: us "nerds" were addicted to computers long before everybody else, and now we are surprised/shocked that the general population is becoming addicted too :)

I also struggle with this dichotomy.

I have definitely used computers (and especially video games) as a means to avoid confronting personal emotional challenges, but that is not the whole picture for me.

For me, computers are an empowering tool, an extension of my arms and fingers and my mind, with which I can express myself creatively.

If children were spending all their time expressing themselves creatively through computers/phones/etc, then we would see this all very differently.

Re: On the Rise of Digital Addiction Activism

#14

Post by najarvg »

amelius wrote: post #4

What I find funny: us "nerds" were addicted to computers long before everybody else, and now we are surprised/shocked that the general population is becoming addicted too :)

Maybe it's time to break that down into "creation" and "consumption" based technology activities? This way we can co-opt the inevitable rise of technology and teach kids to add value.

Re: On the Rise of Digital Addiction Activism

#15

Post by baud147258 »

phirschybar wrote: post #7

I agree that Apple is the wrong target. So is social media. I am not a doctor, but I am a parent. I think the problem is that kids cannot learn to cope with their problems and anxieties when they have zero idle time. Kids need time in the day to face and mentally process the social and hormonal challenges that they experience in everyday life. They simply cannot do this when all of their "boring" down-time is consume…

> Kids fill their idle time with all of this interactivity which keeps them entirely distracted from life's challenges

Looking at my current situation (mental and otherwise), I'd say it's not limited to kids.

Re: On the Rise of Digital Addiction Activism

#16

Post by megaman22 »

dantillberg wrote: post #13
amelius wrote: post #4

What I find funny: us "nerds" were addicted to computers long before everybody else, and now we are surprised/shocked that the general population is becoming addicted too :)

I also struggle with this dichotomy. I have definitely used computers (and especially video games) as a means to avoid confronting personal emotional challenges, but that is not the whole picture for me. For me, computers are an empowering tool, an extension of my arms and fingers and my mind, with which I can express myself creatively. If children were spending all their time expressing themselves creatively through…

Are you not expressing yourself creatively by screwing around and playing in a game? Maybe that's not as possible with the digital slot machine games that seem to be all mobile devices these days can support.

I think the whole creation vs consumption thing is overblown, personally. You're not going to create things that are any good without first being a consumer of them. I would have never been interested in programming if I wasn't a PC gamer first, and dipped my toes in the water in my teens with modding.

Re: On the Rise of Digital Addiction Activism

#17

Post by [deleted] »

megaman22 wrote: post #16
dantillberg wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also struggle with this dichotomy. I have definitely used computers (and especially video games) as a means to avoid confronting personal emotional challenges, but that is not the whole picture for me. For me, computers are an empowering tool, an extension of my arms and fingers and my mind, with which I can express myself creatively. If children were spending all their time expressing themselves creatively through…

Are you not expressing yourself creatively by screwing around and playing in a game? Maybe that's not as possible with the digital slot machine games that seem to be all mobile devices these days can support. I think the whole creation vs consumption thing is overblown, personally. You're not going to create things that are any good without first being a consumer of them. I would have never been interested in program…

[deleted]
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