If a news article has a question as it's headline, then answer is almost always "no".
Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)
71–80 of 163 posts
Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)
#72[deleted]
Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)
#73I've stopped using smartphones 'cause started to feel yourself like "Walking dead" personage: public transport, stores, streets - many people like zombies watching inside their screens. This is really scaring. And of course the one of the biggest factors of loneliness epidemic around the world.
And of course the one of the biggest factors of loneliness epidemic around the world. Are people lonely because they're using their phones more, or do they use their phones more because they're lonely?
It's the magic circle: social services creates a fake reality with fake hyper social activity, then people starts to use it more&more.
Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)
#74Have smartphones destroyed a generation?
Has the internet destroyed a generation?
Have video games destroyed a generation?
Has TV destroyed a generation?
Has radio destroyed a generation?
Have novels destroyed a generation?
Each of these have been flogged ad-nauseum by the media in their time of peak popularity so that the older people can sit back with a smug quip "Kids these days..."
Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you don't give your kids smart phones you cut them off of people. It's a conundrum. You will only be able to keep your kids off smart phones if you live in a community not using smart phones much for example the Amish. I think parents of the one percent could also create such a community for their children if they are diligent and choose the right private school. My 6 year old son will go to a summer camp where sm…
Yeah, I suspect it really requires a community of like-minded parents. Camp is a good start. For what it's worth, one state in Australia just announced a ban on phones during school hours - couldn't agree more. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-25/victoria-to-ban-mobil...
That's not enough, I am afraid.
I think we should think holistically, this means, don't only look at school but also at family, peer relations and society at large.
In other words I propose that we should completely forbid functional smart phones for children below 10 years then officially introduce smart phones in school as a part of the school's curriculum. The curriculum also limits usage and relaxes the rules when the children get older. Children also should have a say about rules.
Also needed are places where children and teenagers can meet and these places must be autonomously accessible (for example near the school but independent from school).
Such a community allows the children to learn about internet and social media in a safe and controlled manner. I think the children would prefer to play together instead of staying alone in bedrooms anyway.
Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)
#76This article/researcher makes claims that: a) there is a mental health crisis among teenagers which is not parallel to other comparable generations, and b) that crisis is linked to mobile phones. I'm not convinced by either claim. In my experience of working with teenagers over the last couple of decades, there is a general trend that they are now better at communicating their emotional needs and emotional state. If…
> ...today's teenagers: get in less car accidents, have less risky sex, have a lower rate of teenage pregnancy, ingest less risky substances, are generally less violent - and presents this all as bad because it is different than what came before. Is it bad?
It might well be, depending on the reason. We'd also probably see those effects if there was mass depression. Or if we simply locked up all teens at all times. What other "teen stuff" aren't they doing? Socializing (in person)? Exercising?
Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wouldn't overemphasis the troubles of the world. The main issues is that people don't get to enjoy progress to the extent necessary to create a sustainable prosperous society. Decommodifying housing, education and health care would solve 90% of the issue. Almost anything else can then be dealt with. Automation for example isn't a bad thing unless you also have accelerating inequality. Climate change isn't bad unles…
Curious what the housing solution your calling for there would be. How do you decomodditize (?) real estate?
It isn't technically hard. What is hard is making it a priority. Many countries have exchanged long term competitiveness for short term gains. Decommodifying housing would impact those who made it their business.
The process itself would be a range of options. From removing undue leverage that make people buy things they can't (or don't want to) really afford so they are reliant on rising property values, to absolute government intervention. Of course the most likely would be somewhere in between. Where the government by allocating resource (whether that is building permits, land or directly with construction) competes with the market.
And this isn't really the market not functioning as such. The market is accurately pricing things like housing high because of its importance. The problem is that eventually the market will also reflect the decreased competitiveness of important things being expensive.
Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you have a source for that? Young people have way more access to creation tools than ever before. Blogs (writing), memes (photo editing), vlogs (film creation), Instagram (photography)... Not to mention YouTube is the most incredible source of tutorials on just about every topic imaginable. The internet and smartphones have made all these cheaper/freer than ever before. Anyone with a creative itch has a ton of ave…
There's more creation but virtually all of it is ADHD-driven - shallow quick-hit micro-entertainment designed to drive analytics. And a lot of it is interchangeable and repetitive - like all those Instagram photos taken in the same popular locations with the same few stock poses. The same thing applies to music (generic watered-down techno with bass-drum-under-samples and maybe a bit of synth), visual art (digital pa…
Sturgeon's Law - 90% of everything is crap. This has always been the case.
To make a compelling argument, you have to show that it's somehow worse than it used to be. For my money, the peak quality now attained by art is definitely better than it used to be. Why, even just in music, within the past decade the musical genres thoroughly burst their banks and now I find most new music defies classification - I can only listen in wonder. Not all of it is good, to be sure, but vast amounts of it are at least interesting.
Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)
#79This article/researcher makes claims that: a) there is a mental health crisis among teenagers which is not parallel to other comparable generations, and b) that crisis is linked to mobile phones. I'm not convinced by either claim. In my experience of working with teenagers over the last couple of decades, there is a general trend that they are now better at communicating their emotional needs and emotional state. If…
What a great summary. Tho I think the part about issues our society faces is a lot bigger than those few examples. Educated people have more than ever reasons to be depressed now: - pollution - economic stagnation - inflation - antibiotics failing - global warming - debt - automation and artifical intelligence - politics failing to tackle those issues (its a circus in some countries) - issues like Brexit - natural di…
> automation and artifical intelligence
Isn't this supposed to be good for us and make people's lives better? If that's not the case, then it's really something to be worried about.
Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)
#80No smartphones for my kids until they reach 18.
Human interaction cannot be replaced by a screen and a keyboard.