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Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)

theatlantic.com

121–130 of 163 posts

Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How on earth could that ever be realistically enforced?

The Amish know how to enforce their own rules.

By common values and mutual consent. What you're proposing, in the context of broader society, would have to be imposed top-down. Maybe I misunderstood and you're just saying it as a nice what-if, in which case I would agree that small children should be grounded in the physical world first.

Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Amish know how to enforce their own rules.

By common values and mutual consent. What you're proposing, in the context of broader society, would have to be imposed top-down. Maybe I misunderstood and you're just saying it as a nice what-if, in which case I would agree that small children should be grounded in the physical world first.

Yes, this is a what-if, and for some lucky people even achievable (Amish and one percent).

Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)

#123
post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Value of dollar now in comparison to 70s and 80s decreased. We also earn now around 30% less than our parents/grandparents and our money is worth less. And as dollar value influences pretty much whole world, it can be applied the same way in other countries. Source: http://www.in2013dollars.com/1860-dollars-in-2017?amount=1

> Value of dollar now in comparison to 70s and 80s decreased. In comparison to what, exactly? Compared to another currency? Compared to itself? If another currency, then great! We can sell them more stuff because our stuff is cheaper then their own stuff. If compared to itself: so what? Inflation is a stated policy of the Federal Reserve. My dollars may be worth less, but I make more. This isn't a problem unless you…

To itself. And it really depends whether you make more or less. I would argue you earn alot less because now it is significantly harder to support family of five with a single income, which was pretty normal in 70s, 80s (+you had a mortage for a big house on you, now vast majority of young couples starting families have like zero chance to buy such properties). I would love to find HN post about financial situation of young people now, which pretty much painted it all in black color but google fails me as I dont remember exact topic name.

Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)

#124
post #19

Earlier 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…

> If you don't give your kids smart phones you cut them off of people. It's a conundrum. You cut them off from people if they don't have a $1000 computer in their pocket? Dumb phones are still a thing. They can call, text, and many have a camera that can send lower-res images. I think that's way more than enough to stay in touch. They don't need "Apps".

Sorry to tell you this, but teenagers don’t text anymore. They use apps instead - Instagram, Snapchat, Whatsapp, Telegram - because texting is a broken system that doesn’t work reliably. If you cut your kid off from a smartphone, given today’s teenagers, you would be excluding them from anything social outside of school.

Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you don't give your kids smart phones you cut them off of people. It's a conundrum. You cut them off from people if they don't have a $1000 computer in their pocket? Dumb phones are still a thing. They can call, text, and many have a camera that can send lower-res images. I think that's way more than enough to stay in touch. They don't need "Apps".

Sorry to tell you this, but teenagers don’t text anymore. They use apps instead - Instagram, Snapchat, Whatsapp, Telegram - because texting is a broken system that doesn’t work reliably. If you cut your kid off from a smartphone, given today’s teenagers, you would be excluding them from anything social outside of school.

> because texting is a broken system that doesn’t work reliably

Oh really? Could you elaborate on that? I, as a high-tech professional in my early 30s, keep in touch with my pals in a group text. It's never failed.

Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)

#126

This 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…

One curiosity on your comment I noticed:

You claim 'working with teenagers over the last couple of decades' while making the delineation of 'her generation of 47-year olds'.

Even if you began working with teens at 20, 'decades' would put you in your 40's as well? If that is the case, why try and separate your self from the same demographic?

Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)

#127

This 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…

I’d say that since teen suicides are significantly up, yes they are sadder today. And by far the biggest change in young people’s lives today versus previous generations is being constantly connected to the Internet via their phones, more specifically social media.

The suicide rate is a horrible judge of sadness among a generation. The rate is never very stable, and the "three times increase" described for girls is going from 2/100000 to 6/100000. And constant internet access could also cause a change in methods, accounting for some amount of that rise.

Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to tell you this, but teenagers don’t text anymore. They use apps instead - Instagram, Snapchat, Whatsapp, Telegram - because texting is a broken system that doesn’t work reliably. If you cut your kid off from a smartphone, given today’s teenagers, you would be excluding them from anything social outside of school.

> because texting is a broken system that doesn’t work reliably Oh really? Could you elaborate on that? I, as a high-tech professional in my early 30s, keep in touch with my pals in a group text. It's never failed.

Does your friend group include both iPhones and Androids? From experience, any group chat that includes both is going to result in splits (like in IRC), messages simply not going through, and messages arriving multiple days late. In addition, they don’t have the usability features that you get from apps, like read receipts, or being able to add a person to a group message and them being able to see the entire history.

EDIT: That said, you don’t need a $1000 iPhone. A $200 used smartphone (easily found for iPhone or Android) is good enough.

Re: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (2017)

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because texting is a broken system that doesn’t work reliably Oh really? Could you elaborate on that? I, as a high-tech professional in my early 30s, keep in touch with my pals in a group text. It's never failed.

Does your friend group include both iPhones and Androids? From experience, any group chat that includes both is going to result in splits (like in IRC), messages simply not going through, and messages arriving multiple days late. In addition, they don’t have the usability features that you get from apps, like read receipts, or being able to add a person to a group message and them being able to see the entire history…

Point well taken. Apps do provide some usability boost and it's true that in a mixed iOS/Android setting things can get funky sometimes, but I always assumed that it was a carrier issue.

As much as I hate Facebook, Messenger is pretty damn solid.

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