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

‘Luddite’ Teens

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

231–240 of 297 posts

Re: ‘Luddite’ Teens

#231

Post by vitaflo »

sedeki wrote: post #22

I want to start doing this too. I bought a flip-phone some time ago, but it never stuck. My usage is pretty much: listen to music, use (Google) calendar, texting, FaceTime. Any surfing is plain doom scrolling and not productive. Recommendations for me? Analog/simpler substitutes? For ppl that has gone down this path - how do you feel now?

Personally it wasn't very hard for me to go down this path because I never found social media (which lets face it is the big driver of phone overuse) to be all that interesting in the first place.

That said I treat my phone mostly like a phone. I have my calls and texts whitelisted. If you're not in my contact list, the phone won't ring or ding. Then if I hear it ring, I know it's someone I know.

I remove most of the apps on my phone and keep it on my desk at all times. No different than a phone you would have hanging on a wall. I treat it the same, so I don't feel the need to really "use" it.

I will take my phone with me when I go places, and use it for music or maps in the car, but because I mostly treat it as a phone, I don't really see it as anything other than that.

When I started doing this I was admittedly pretty bored, but over time I just found other things to do and am never bored now. You just get used to it. Humans are pretty adaptable.

Re: ‘Luddite’ Teens

#232

Post by idrios »

nickthegreek wrote: post #86
LarryMullins wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're doing the right thing. w.r.t. "what will you do when they get older and jealous?" , learning to deal with jealousy is a good lesson to teach kids. Giving a kid everything they envy and demand is how you raise an entitled brat.

They aren’t jealous of the tech. They are jealous of not being included. They might not get invited to events or understand their friends jokes because they weren’t part of the group chats. This can make them resent their parents and give them social anxiety. Kids can be very cruel and lack the empathy skills to understand why their friend isn’t allowed a phone. Overdoing it either direction can be a serious mistake.

Kids can be naive and selfish, but even most kids aren't so unempathetic as to not understand that their friend doesn't have a phone because their parents won't buy them one. The addage "if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?" seems relevant here.

Re: ‘Luddite’ Teens

#233

Post by LarryMullins »

mitchdoogle wrote: post #178
goatlover wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does something being popular ruin its quality? The reason people diss hipsters is because they’re reacting to what other people enjoy instead of just liking something for its own sake.

I suppose popularity could inflate the creators' egos, leading them to make unilateral decisions without any advice or input from others. Not necessarily a bad thing, especially if the creator was already making unilateral decisions, but if before the popularity there was a group of people making decisions (such as a writers room for a television show) and after popularity they stop doing that, then there is a risk t…

> I suppose popularity could inflate the creators' egos, leading them to make unilateral decisions without any advice or input from others. Not necessarily a bad thing, especially if the creator was already making unilateral decisions, but if before the popularity there was a group of people making decisions (such as a writers room for a television show) and after popularity they stop doing that, then there is a risk the quality goes down.

Kojima and the Metal Gear series.

Re: ‘Luddite’ Teens

#234

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

djaouen wrote: post #167
floppydiskette wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it engage or die?

Imagine, for example, applying for a job with no social media presence. OK, maybe “engage or die” is not the right phrase, but you get the gist of what I’m saying.

I once applied for a SV company, and recruiter told me I need at least 100 FB friends. I created an account and played some stupid game that gave bonuses for bringing friends. After couple of days I had 400 friends. Manager emphasized my social acumen to everyone's cheer when introducing me to my new team.

Re: ‘Luddite’ Teens

#235

Post by McSwag »

411111111111111 wrote: post #152
legohead wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's very difficult. I was lucky to have access to the internet in the late 80s and have watched it grow, mature, evolve. I know how quickly things can change, and I don't want my kids to miss out or be left behind. But at the same time, the dangers that exist today didn't exist even in the 90s. My biggest fear then was receiving an email virus. Now, Social Media alone is enough to make a parent take a step back and…

> Social Media alone is enough to make a parent take a step back and wonder what is the right time to introduce your children to the internet. I can't help but wonder whenever I hear this message: do you know, really ? After taking with them a little, it often comes down to pretty ... innocuous things in my opinion. Sure, there's always peer pressure and they'll be constantly judged etc, but that's just a an exaggera…

That’s a serious concern for sure. There’s also the weaponization of information which shouldn’t be overlooked.

At an age when kids really haven’t learned to think critically or have the wisdom to realize they’re being manipulated particularly those vulnerable teen years, I think parents do need to consider this. It’s pretty much at least a second job to keep tabs on what kids are viewing/consuming/doing online at all times. If you have multiple children forget it. Parental controls are extremely limited, schools require access to youtube.com and google.com and facebook for events so that pretty much opens the door to view/access most adult things without ever touching a “questionable” website. “The algorithm” still forms a bias on what kids see as well, further eroding critical thinking skills.

A vast majority of parents don’t bother with any controls at all which undermines the effort of those that do which the can lead to resentment and frustration because of peer pressure.

To say that I’m worried about this is an understatement but I also don’t think the cat can be put back in the bag.

Re: ‘Luddite’ Teens

#236

Post by huehehue »

Can't say that I love the praise over Chris McCandless, given the amount of deliberate self-sabotage and the fact that hikers have literally died trying to recreate his pilgrimage.

> We’ve all got this theory that we’re not just meant to be confined to buildings and work. And [McCandless] was experiencing life. Real life. Social media and phones are not real life.

I'm nitpicking, just think there are way healthier examples. Overall I love the mentality and really hope the next generation or two embraces a major shift away from tech addiction. Feels like growing pains from head-spinningly rapid technological innovation and availability.

Re: ‘Luddite’ Teens

#237

Post by notch656c »

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK wrote: post #234
djaouen wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine, for example, applying for a job with no social media presence. OK, maybe “engage or die” is not the right phrase, but you get the gist of what I’m saying.

I once applied for a SV company, and recruiter told me I need at least 100 FB friends. I created an account and played some stupid game that gave bonuses for bringing friends. After couple of days I had 400 friends. Manager emphasized my social acumen to everyone's cheer when introducing me to my new team.

Were they bilking you for contacts? Why on earth would that be a requirement? I'm wary of any job that requires me to disclose connection to non-employment related parties. It's a pretty well known scam technique used by places such as multi-level marketing to exploit someone and then toss them when sales channels through their contacts are exhausted.

Re: ‘Luddite’ Teens

#238

Post by HWR_14 »

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #217
HWR_14 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The same thing is happening to Marvel. People checked out after Endgame. First, it would be weird to say that was because Marvel was falling apart. It was the conclusion of a decade long movie franchise. Of course people might watch something else once the story they had been following was done. It doesn't mean they won't come back or didn't like the new movies, it means they wanted a break. But mainly, it's also n…

> They were beaten out by the Top Gun reboot and the latest Jurassic Park Which is both sad and hilarious in the context of this thread

I mean, rounding out the top 10 of 2022 are the latest Minions, Batman, Harry Potter, Sonic the Hedgehog (for some reason) and a sequel to a Chinese movie which was in the top 10 in 2021. Nothing original at all in 2022, and the big things that may still break into the top 10 (e.g. Avatar 2) are also sequels.

In 2021, the only original things were the highest production cost Chinese movie in history that glorified the Chinese army vanquishing their enemies (South Korea, the US) in the Korean War (this is the one that got a sequel) and a Chinese comedy. The western movies were the latest Bond, Fast and Furious, Kong vs. Godzilla, and Sing 2.

(A Chinese movie series also was in the top 10 in 2021)

Re: ‘Luddite’ Teens

#239

Post by poopiokaka »

LarryMullins wrote: post #223
poopiokaka wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol I can’t imagine judging kids this hard. You’re doing great

His death wasn't a freak accident, it was a predictable consequence of him going into Alaska unprepared. He shot a moose and let it rot because he didn't know better and didn't bother to learn first. This was hubris; Alaska is not the place to fake it until you make it. Anyway, my critique of McCandless is mild, talk to some Alaskans if you want to hear some proper vitriolic criticism of him. I barely scratched the s…

Nice. Nah I was talking about you generally roasting teens in comments on this thread. Just seems weird. Maybe you are a teen and it’s not? Idk who cares I guess

Re: ‘Luddite’ Teens

#240

Post by manholio »

HWR_14 wrote: post #145
Barrin92 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>They are jealous of not being included. It's better to instill in kids early that it's important to cultivate deep rather than wide social connections. Teaching your kid to stand up for themselves and make friends that don't care about blue chat bubbles or fashionable clothes is necessary. Because there's always gonna be some group you're not going to be cool enough to be a part of. Maybe you're not pretty enough, a…

> Teaching your kid to stand up for themselves But they aren't standing up for themselves. They're standing up for decisions forced on them by their parents. > make friends that don't care about blue chat bubbles or fashionable clothes is necessary It has nothing to do with being cool (and I've never heard of anyone referencing blue chat bubbles that wasn't using it derogatorily like you are). It's about not being un…

> and I've never heard of anyone referencing blue chat bubbles that wasn't using it derogatorily like you are)

there is a reference to this in TFA, it's a real phenomenon

Post reply on HN