Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

U.S. teens are spending less time with their friends in person

theconversation.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 294 posts

Re: U.S. teens are spending less time with their friends in person

#111

Post by Zenst »

frosted-flakes wrote: post #88
Zenst wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK, both are now illegal, can't even sell a knife to anybody under 18, same with glue and many things above and beyond alcohol and tobacco. Equally, having a knife in public, would be mandatory jail in the UK in the current climate. For a child, they would be taken into care and some serious nightmares for the parents from social services and the police. As for explosives, all the above, but far worse. By defa…

What kind of knives are we talking about? Are even mini Swiss Army knives with 1.5" blades banned? What about a multi-tool like a Leatherman Wave, which has three 3" blades along with pliers, etc? I carry my leatherman everywhere I go, and wouldn't blink if I saw a 14 year old with one. Ontario, Canada.

The official line is:- https://www.police.uk/crime-prevention-advice/possession-of-...

However, interpretation of what threatening is varies and for some people say walking a dog, the sight of a knife of any form would be a call to the police - however legal or not. This and the internet has demonstrated time and time again, that whatever is said or done - their will always be some who will take offence.

Take a look at - https://www.knifefree.co.uk/ which is linked upon that page. Can see what type of message they are putting out regarding knives, do recommend doing that quiz. Also interesting is the boss button on the right (quick exit from site onto google).

But then the UK is very London centric in how laws and rules get driven and more so - enforced. Compared to Canada, in which you have more wilderness, the social culture is more at ease and as such the law/system - less reactionary. Equally you have whole area's in which people don't lock their doors. Unheard of in today's times in the UK alas (though I'm sure there are small hamlets of hope). Though was common in the past, even in London.

Re: U.S. teens are spending less time with their friends in person

#112

Post by wtallis »

sanderjd wrote: post #86
brightball wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, Cub Scouts / Boy Scouts are a pretty great place to get those same skills and experiences. Great opportunity to get a well rounded childhood.

I'm a fan of these sorts of programs as well, but adolescents also really really need unstructured time together.

A properly executed Boy Scout program[1] should give adolescents a lot of unstructured time and leave them with the sense that they spent a weekend hanging out with their friends having fun. It's only at the Cub Scout level where it's appropriate for adults to be planning and leading a highly structured weekend of activities. When I take my troop camping, even if there's a fixed plan for an activity during the day (eg. if we've hired a whitewater rafting outfitter for the day), by 4 or 5PM on Saturday we're back in camp and the scouts' time is their own from then until mid-morning Sunday when they need to be packed up and ready for the drive home. They're still loosely supervised by adults, but there's no adult telling them when to start cooking dinner or when to go to bed.

[1] The program is officially no longer known as Boy Scouts in the US, now that it's starting to go co-ed.

Re: U.S. teens are spending less time with their friends in person

#113

Post by darkpuma »

Zak wrote: post #107
frosted-flakes wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of knives are we talking about? Are even mini Swiss Army knives with 1.5" blades banned? What about a multi-tool like a Leatherman Wave, which has three 3" blades along with pliers, etc? I carry my leatherman everywhere I go, and wouldn't blink if I saw a 14 year old with one. Ontario, Canada.

UK law is that a folding knife under 3" is generally legal to carry in public. Anything else requires a "good reason", which can be problematic if the cop/judge doesn't see things your way. A court ruling some time ago decided that a folding knife with a locking mechanism is actually a fixed blade and therefore not generally legal to carry. Traditional Swiss Army Knives are non-locking and most of them are under 3".…

Sounds like the leatherman I had as a teenager would be illegal then; that's pretty nuts. The most dangerous thing I ever did with it was take apart a microwave oven, and that didn't even involve the blade.

Re: U.S. teens are spending less time with their friends in person

#114

Post by _AzMoo »

paulsutter wrote: post #67
Zenst wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So true, in essence driving them into online friend interactions. Makes you wonder what life will be like for children 50 years from now, and how that would compare with today. After there was a time when making explosives was a childhood right of passage along with chemistry sets, making fires, even having a pocket knife. Today, such common activities would not end well at all, however innocent the intention. These…

Surely kids still try to make gunpowder, what are you talking about? And for who but kids are pocket knives and chenistry sets made? > there was a time when making explosives was a childhood right of passage along with chemistry sets, making fires, even having a pocket knife.

All of the chemistry sets I've seen for the last 10 years have been severely nerfed. Nothing like the type of thing I had when I was a kid in the 80s.

Re: U.S. teens are spending less time with their friends in person

#115

Post by grawprog »

nradov wrote: post #74
grawprog wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is becoming more of a problem, at least in the city I live. Greenspaces and public parks are being replaced with condos and apartment complexes with their own walled off private courtyards and such. Parks, little groves of trees and stuff are the kinds of places we'd hang out as teenagers a lot.

Which city is that? Most cities are unwilling to sell off public parks to private developers. Do you have specific examples of parks that were built over and not replaced with something accessible to the public?

I'd rather not be too specific, but in the lower mainland in BC. Yeah, the one that used to be just down the road from me that's about to be turned, first into a giant pit, then into a large complex of highrises.

Re: U.S. teens are spending less time with their friends in person

#116

Post by hardwaregeek »

Idk if this is specific to my generation, but us young people suck at hanging out. People never confirm whether or not they're going to an event. They flake all the time, often without warning. If they're not flaking, they're perpetually late, often absurdly (nothing like getting to a place and getting a text about just leaving). It drives me nuts. But it's so ubiquitous, it's hard to take a stand against it. It's like people forgot how to hang out with friends.

Re: U.S. teens are spending less time with their friends in person

#117

Post by [deleted] »

jmoss20 wrote: post #61
hbosch wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, sense of community is actually stronger than ever I think. But those communities are less geographic and much more ideological. The communal bond these days happens more in ideas and beliefs than in physical proximity. Social media made it so, and this shifted sense of community has given rise to increasingly radical and extreme ideologies — but also much stronger bonds in my opinion.

That's a slightly different sense of community though -- there are things that local (geographically) communities can provide that online communities simply can't. Some of those things are probably pretty important.

[deleted]

Re: U.S. teens are spending less time with their friends in person

#119

Post by cududa »

brightball wrote: post #65
Zenst wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So true, in essence driving them into online friend interactions. Makes you wonder what life will be like for children 50 years from now, and how that would compare with today. After there was a time when making explosives was a childhood right of passage along with chemistry sets, making fires, even having a pocket knife. Today, such common activities would not end well at all, however innocent the intention. These…

FWIW, Cub Scouts / Boy Scouts are a pretty great place to get those same skills and experiences. Great opportunity to get a well rounded childhood.

Dunno, when I did cub scouts / Boy Scouts even 20 years ago it was basically glorified arts and crafts
Post reply on HN