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An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#31

Post by coldpie »

julianlam wrote: post #22
skrebbel wrote: post #14

I think this is a good message, but by making the phone the problem I fear the author misses a fundamental connection to the youth he addresses. The issue is what you do on a phone, not the phone itself. In fact, phones make it a lot easier to create and not just consume, than televisions did back in the author's youth. And I bet there were similar anti-TV op-eds in newspapers in those days that the author would have…

> The message should've been to create, not consume. This needs to be said more and more with each passing year. I became aware of this phenomenon back in the early 2000s, with Facebook gaining popularity among my friends, and blogs were gradually losing steam -- people aren't creating anymore, but simply consuming media, and therein lies the problem: how can you express independent thought when your media consumptio…

Nah. People are more creative now than they have ever been. You just haven't followed them to the new platforms. On the Internet, go check out SoundCloud and YouTube and Instagram and TikTok and Open Source communities. Off the Internet, go check in with your local independent radio, theatre communities, and maker spaces. Creativity is exploding. People haven't stagnated; you have.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#32

Post by fennecfoxen »

julianlam wrote: post #23
dudul wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually think that the generation that was born with a technology also barely understands it. How many kids really understand what FB is made of? How many of them really understand what the internet is? They don't, it's always been there, who cares? There is this misconception that just because a kid can swipe and type super fast on their phone they are "tech literate". As someone who taught tech in school I've se…

The scary part is those same individuals who have grown up with Facebook, et al. being ubiquitous, believe Facebook is the entirety of the internet.

This sounds mildly implausible given that Facebook is full of links to things that aren’t itself.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#33

Post by creata »

reedf1 wrote: post #24
otabdeveloper4 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Social media and video games are addictive in the same way that cigarettes, alcohol, etc., are. Worse, video games and social media are now explicitly targeted by big business to get kids addicted as early as possible. It's a mess and we're heading for a huge shakedown and re-orientation in a generation. (At one point cigarettes were seen as a "not big deal" too.)

Everything is addictive, what matters is when the addiction subverts your intrinsic goals.I think what people need to be spared is some moralism about what your intrinsic goals "should" be. Some people's intrinsic goal is to be part of the culture of their time, and games do that just like books, movies, comics, what have you.

There are lots of games that are simply designed as entertainment (edit: or political pieces, art, etc.), and I'm perfectly fine with those. But there are also games, typically mobile games, that blatantly do everything in their power to keep the player (often a naive child) coming back, and those are definitely manipulative. Manipulative enough to be illegal? I don't think so, but I'm not sure.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#34

Post by romanoderoma »

raverbashing wrote: post #12

No, it's not the youth that has to get off their phones It's the older generation. They are the ones lacking critical skills and ability to understand what goes on Fb, etc Edit: I don't see why this is so controversial. Younger people do stupid stuff on their phones, but they're more open to learning from their mistakes The older generation has a more inflexible mindset and hasn't been on the internet/social media fo…

I'll tell you a story: I was born not so long ago, but before internet existed and I had my first connection at the age of 19 in 1995.

When I was a kid I grew up between the city and the country

I knew about animals, how they behaved, what they ate and what was their role (cows for milk, chickens made eggs, pigs for ham)

Fast forward 30 years, my nephews know every burger place around and where to eat the best chicken snacks but have never seen a chicken or a cow alive, the younger one was shocked when he discovered that chicken nuggets and fried potatoes don't exist in nature and they don't grow at the supermarket

It might look an extreme example, but as a tech worker I see that younger generations have a way to using technology that is more immediate but is also more shallow

They take it for granted, like it always existed and usually don't think about the downsides much the same way I didn't think of the downside of using the car every time I needed to move

To make an hyperbole, there have been a generation that was born when fascism was established and for them fascism was normal

It's hard to see something from the outside when you are literally born in it and it's the only form you have experienced it

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#35

Post by kardianos »

jhbadger wrote: post #27

I'm old enough to remember when it was TV that was supposedly wasting the time and destroying the youth. Before that, it was comic books. And movies. And even in the 19th century people were complaining about novels. Yes, in theory it is better if people do something constructive rather than just enjoy entertainment. But people can't be 100% in productive mode 100% of the time.

I call survivor bias.

Books without action can render useless. TV can consume countless hours and does eat lives. Smartphones are the same, but more so.

We must recognize the danger all these thing. Information without physical action is a danger.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#36

Post by Subsentient »

Both zoomers and boomers are guilty of opposite problems

No, zoomer, Facebook is not a good use of your time. Get a PC and create content, rather than consume it. You have access to a miracle of modern technology, and you squander it on garbage.

No, boomer, phones are not the devil, and you're being a drain by refusing to learn basic tech skills, and people are getting tired of holding your head above water when you immediately forget everything we try to teach you and plunge it back in.

The problem isn't what the new generation is using, it's what they're using it for.

The older generation's aversion to technology and deliberate lack of effort will only cause them pain in the future, and it causes pain to countless grandkids right now :^)

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#37

Post by phenkdo »

jhbadger wrote: post #27

I'm old enough to remember when it was TV that was supposedly wasting the time and destroying the youth. Before that, it was comic books. And movies. And even in the 19th century people were complaining about novels. Yes, in theory it is better if people do something constructive rather than just enjoy entertainment. But people can't be 100% in productive mode 100% of the time.

And to add to that, there is this presumption that phones are purely for entertainment aka "time wasting". They are also very useful devices for business, work, education, etc. Let those individuals decide what's good/bad - who are we to lecture?

tl;dr: There are no solutions, just trade-offs

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#38

Post by throwaway4220 »

jhbadger wrote: post #27

I'm old enough to remember when it was TV that was supposedly wasting the time and destroying the youth. Before that, it was comic books. And movies. And even in the 19th century people were complaining about novels. Yes, in theory it is better if people do something constructive rather than just enjoy entertainment. But people can't be 100% in productive mode 100% of the time.

There's some equivalence, but consider the amount of engineering and research that Facebook, Instagram and Youtube put into keeping eyes on screens, and I think it's worse than ever.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#39

Post by aaron695 »

Why does Indian society think it's ok for a letter to be written in this patronising tone?

For a newspaper to write it, it must be acceptable somewhat.

As a youth today I'd be more worried that you are seen as so weak that they can talk to you this way.

Western society does jab away at the youth (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/avocado-toast), but not this bad and the youth fight back.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#40

Post by roenxi »

jhbadger wrote: post #27

I'm old enough to remember when it was TV that was supposedly wasting the time and destroying the youth. Before that, it was comic books. And movies. And even in the 19th century people were complaining about novels. Yes, in theory it is better if people do something constructive rather than just enjoy entertainment. But people can't be 100% in productive mode 100% of the time.

Although maybe the biggest concern being expressed is by the old who are in dire need of the youth working to look after them. From that perspective, the situation seems a little sad.
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