C
Contica
Unconfirmed Member
Replaced by smartphone with a dumb phone recently, I'm much happier, get more done, and feel like I have more free time, for whatever it's worth.
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Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? The Atlantic
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BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Pretty well since network TV actually turned off at night. Cable channels that just stay on 24/7 is pretty much a post-90s experience.
benicillin
Banned
The world is a hot nightmare but it's a lot easier to blame a piece of plastic and metal I guess.
Thanks man.
One Eyed Willy
Member
Parents can do a better job to be honest. But it's easy to hand a kid a phone or tablet and they grow up like this and its no shock. Its the same argument from the 90s of plopping kids in front of TVs.. almost identical. I'm guilty of this myself on occasion but I have gone way beyond means to make sure my kids are active in several sports at once, other groups and do my best to limit their phone/tablet time within reason.
No generation is lost, not young kids today or 20 somethings. People in general will take the easier route on most everything in life, if its right in front of them. Sitting on your ass and browsing your phone is a lot easier than doing just about anything else. Can't blame kids/teens/20 somethings for taking the easy route. I think parents should be active in their kids lives, steer the ship and lead by example. If mom and dad come home from work and plop in front of a computer, a TV or a phone etc.. what does that say to the kid?
I think the internet and phones etc.. are mostly a net positive and great for children to grow up using. Kids are exposed to technology at a young age, which is great. It just goes back to the age old, "everything in moderation" ...
Parents are the vehicle for moderation.
No generation is lost, not young kids today or 20 somethings. People in general will take the easier route on most everything in life, if its right in front of them. Sitting on your ass and browsing your phone is a lot easier than doing just about anything else. Can't blame kids/teens/20 somethings for taking the easy route. I think parents should be active in their kids lives, steer the ship and lead by example. If mom and dad come home from work and plop in front of a computer, a TV or a phone etc.. what does that say to the kid?
I think the internet and phones etc.. are mostly a net positive and great for children to grow up using. Kids are exposed to technology at a young age, which is great. It just goes back to the age old, "everything in moderation" ...
Parents are the vehicle for moderation.
BlazinSkatinAxel
Member
Smartphones destroyed generation? Yes.
Posted from Windows 10 Mobile.
Posted from Windows 10 Mobile.
Earthbound64
Banned
dantevsninjas
Member
No. If anything is ruining generations, it's the false image that the world is a more dangerous place than it really is. Parents don't let kids be kids anymore, because they are afraid there's a kidnapping pedophile murderer lurking around every corner. And the parents who know better get singled out as neglectful when they do let their kids be kids.
digitalrelic
Banned
This is a clueless post. Our constant and nearly never-ending interaction and reliance on smartphones and social media far eclipses the average usage of fucking MTV, or radio, or books.
The fact that you can't see the problem with the concept of us all being stuck in virtual worlds 24/7 not even moving in 20 years is all I need to know about your perspective on this issue.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
Which is interesting. My generation was blamed for videogames. Now, phones have videogames, sports, movies and we are blaming phones. Hell, it has the ultimate porn stash, which we all have looked for and found. Easy dates and sex. Swipe right and and half of the game is done. You're basically getting an app to tell someone you like them and check the box.
I try to stay away from it. Especially when i played videogames and the generation that cosigned Jim Crow tried to convince us we had a problem.
Herr Schwarz
Banned
Social media is a parasite on the human psyche
Vicetrailia
Member
Problems with social media is that you know how everyone lives their lives and you begin to want what you see without anything in person filling that void.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
Sorry, but that seems awfully complacent to me. Society has changed radically as a result of the way digital technology has advanced in recent times, and at some point it needs to be considered that change is going to bring new challenges.
Recession is not a phenomenon unique to the last decade, however the ever present influence of a 24-hour news cycle churning away and shaping young people's world-views is. At no point in human history has the youth been so submerged in "information", much of which is of dubious value.
If you want to believe that propaganda never works, please continue to argue that the deluge of information and opinion marinating kids today is irrelevent. However if you do believe that people can have their worldview and reality shaped by externally constructed narratives, you need to question how healthy it is for young minds to be exposed to the chaos generated by a media that primarily exists purely for profit.
CrimsonCrescendo
Banned
And all of that has been well known for a while and I'm not discounting that. However, trends like "In No Rush To Drive" was in a pronounced decline since 1976. "Less Dating" was trending since the mid 90's. "Less Sex" has only recently dipped below mid 90's and mid 00's levels, they actually went up for a while after Iphone release. "Less Likely to get enough sleep" skyrocketed in the 90's and early 00's and was actually stable and went down a bit during the first 5 or so years of the Iphone release.
The only thing that seems lined up is "More Likely to be Lonely" which would make sense since the Adverse effects of prolonged social media use on youths has been noted for years. But even that is a multi-level issue since Smartphones =/= Social Media and even if we were to get rid of Smartphones altogether it wouldn't stop issues arising from it.
I'm simply not convinced by the thesis of this article. Smartphones cause symptoms, but is not the root cause. War on Terror, 9/11, 2008 stock market crash, 2008 - 2010 losing nearly 10 million jobs, rise in 24 hour a day tv stations in the 90's, stagnating wages, rise of social media, etc. all contribute heavily which is why we've been seeing these trends for decades. Coming up with a title like "Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation" and attributing everything to smartphones being released is simply wildly jumping to conclusions. Linking "In No Rush To Drive" to smart phones is especially dubious to me because, again, that has been a trend for 40+ years. Same as "Less Likely to get enough sleep" unless you want to argue that smartphones had a delayed effect for six years (it actually declined for a year or two) and somehow caused the 10% jump from 91' to '02, before both social media and smartphones.
Earthbound64
Banned
Same here.
I waited as long as I fucking could, and I got bored of having only a home phone at 25 years old (I'm 28 now).
I never fucking leave my phone as soon as I have nothing better to do.
I suspect parents having far less money, plus the cost of buying/running a car compared to the shit wages from part-time jobs getting tougher for teenagers, is more likely to impact on car-ownership by teens who live at home than being an internet shut-in. I'm surprised how little they contrast the changes in the lifestyles of the parents with the kids on stuff like that.
This is where I feel really bad for kids nowadays. I got bullied pretty badly growing up and I made it through knowing that at least I was 'safe' at home. None of that shit followed me into my actual house. Even when the internet came around I was still safe and could have friends online without it being connected to my bullying. Nowadays? Nope.
Hari Seldon
Member
I think the bullying among kids in schools over cell phones is a big problem, at least from my anecdotal experience. I feel like cell phones should be banned in schools, or at least confined to lockers.
freethoughtbubble
Member
Smartphones are all-consuming devices. I'm not even part of this generation and I feel it sometimes. Just the other day I made it a point not to check my phone between parking and sitting at my desk. While waiting for my coffee to brew I suddenly found myself reading gaf (lol) without remembering ever having taken my phone out of my pocket. It was an automatic response to a moment of downtime. I can't imagine what it must be like growing up having never known a pre-smartphone, pre-social media world.
There is a lot of dismissal of this article in this thread, but no one is disputing the data regarding more screen time being correlated with higher rates of isolation and depression, and vice-versa, right? Who gives a shit about the driving graph being less than dramatic when the "I'm sad" line is going through the roof?
There is a lot of dismissal of this article in this thread, but no one is disputing the data regarding more screen time being correlated with higher rates of isolation and depression, and vice-versa, right? Who gives a shit about the driving graph being less than dramatic when the "I'm sad" line is going through the roof?
milanbaros
Member?
A lot of those graphs appear to have nothing to do with the release of the iPhone though.
CrimsonCrescendo
Banned
People are scoffing because things like "Less Driving" and "Not Sleeping enough" have been trending like that for 30 to 40 years and yet this article somehow links them.
And no, no one's disputing the depression/lonely figure since Since this has been observed since 2010 with the internet.
At least they have some numbers that show a possible problem with the generation and are trying to explain them. Its slightly better then you average yell at young people article.
sixteen-bit
Member
Aren't they the villain of Jurassic Park, lol?
I do browse GAF too much but mostly only during down time and compared to what I see out and about, friends, family I think my smartphone usage is pretty tame, I only check the time out and about and never look at my phone unless it rings whereas people I see are glued to them walking around, while they are having lunch or with friends which is odd to me. I can also ignore my phone while watching the TV or doing something else and it annoys me greatly when others don't do the same.
Velocity:Design:Comfort
Banned
Maybe a lack of chances at upward mobility or economic success, or a completely narcissistic and depressive/dysfunctional media and government, or extremely nihilistic, hateful, and entitled 80s kids/baby boomers destroyed a generation? Not an object that can take no actions on its own?
Conciliator
Banned
god I went to high school in the 90s and one of the big fears at the time was high schoolers having sex. If you're a teen and you have sex you're going to get pregnant and die. Now we're telling kids to get off their phones and go out and have sex like a normal person or they're going to be a lost generation. no wonder we grow up with so many fucked up sexual hang-ups.
Earthbound64
Banned
Seriously, it's a terrible piece for a variety of reasons.
Alcotholic
Banned
I plan on doing that in a couple years. I just bought a new phone before I realized I didn't actually like having a smart phone.
I hope to influence,my GF to do the same. She's addicted to social media a bit and it kinda bothers me.
adamsappel
Member
My 14-year-old daughter is at camp for a month, where she doesn't have a phone. I am interested in how she handles getting it back. I think she's read more books the past couple weeks than she has in her entire life; I hope that sticks with her. But I don't decry her using a phone. My daughter and her friends don't watch tv, which we did mindlessly. Video chatting is better than blindly talking on the phone. We would be gone from home for long hours, with our parents clueless as to our whereabouts, while we know exactly where our daughter is at all times and can contact her immediately. We lied to our parents about where we were and what we'd been doing, that's pretty much impossible today, especially with a generation that documents themselves so willingly. Punishment (taking away the phone) is much easier and impactful. They can immediately learn the answer to any question that pops into their heads. Teenagers need guidance with their use, as with anything, but phones are not the devil.
The_blonde_and_blue
Member
I'm kind of tired of hearing about what ruined 'x' generation every year.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
Smart phones could be a problem. But when every generation cries wolf, you start to be less persuaded by the 'evidence'. Rock and roll, interracial marriage, gay people, rap, video games. What hasn't been blamed for the fall of society?
And i still have 'no widespread slavery and less lynchings' as a credit to my generation. Fuck you, old people.
And i still have 'no widespread slavery and less lynchings' as a credit to my generation. Fuck you, old people.
HerbertBirdsfoot
Member
My 11 year old rarely watches TV, but is on YouTube a ton of time. It's really kind of disturbing to hear her say "such as such YouTuber says this", and stuff.
One thing that struck me last night is she said something like "oh, I get most of my news from YouTube" and then "CNN lies all of the time, dad." I'm liberal and I don't much care for cable news but the disdain for mainstream media seemed a little weird and Trump-y. She told me who she watches for news and I forget at the moment, but seemed to be a bit of a libertarian when I googled the guy.
I watched plenty of TV as a kid. My daughter is a good student and plays sports. She reads quite a bit. She doesn't have enough friends though, and rarely spends time with them outside school. Mostly they just text. And honestly I'd prefer her to be watching TV than to be getting some sort of indoctrination from some random 30 year old "YouTuber".
One thing that struck me last night is she said something like "oh, I get most of my news from YouTube" and then "CNN lies all of the time, dad." I'm liberal and I don't much care for cable news but the disdain for mainstream media seemed a little weird and Trump-y. She told me who she watches for news and I forget at the moment, but seemed to be a bit of a libertarian when I googled the guy.
I watched plenty of TV as a kid. My daughter is a good student and plays sports. She reads quite a bit. She doesn't have enough friends though, and rarely spends time with them outside school. Mostly they just text. And honestly I'd prefer her to be watching TV than to be getting some sort of indoctrination from some random 30 year old "YouTuber".
hemo memo
Gold Member
Yet they still have school exams to define someones intelligence.
Human Resources
Member
My theory is that we're experiencing these problems now because the design of our society still enforces a separation between online communication and socialization from their real-world counterparts. As our phones evolve, so do their communicative potential. They are more computers than anything now, and this "destroyed generation" that has grown up with them will be the next wave of innovators. Already, our phones are becoming powerful tools for business, learning, even for creating art, and we've trained up a generation to use them fluently.
The shift we need to focus on is the smartphone's potential for education. It's too easy for kids just to watch Minecraft videos and tune out (although I suspect the architecture, engineering and design worlds might see some interesting effects down the line because of this). Remember the buzz about wearable computers back in the early 00's? Smartphones and tablets took over that space. More and more of our communication will be through technology as time goes on. Hell, more and more of our society in general will be digitized; we're already seeing popular music transition. You might roll your eyes at the kids at EDM concerts, but those same DJs are the ones producing the Billboard hits that top the charts for most of the world.
I don't want to downplay that we are definitely experiencing growing pains from the rise of smartphones and social media, but I truly believe that this is part of our evolution as a species.
The shift we need to focus on is the smartphone's potential for education. It's too easy for kids just to watch Minecraft videos and tune out (although I suspect the architecture, engineering and design worlds might see some interesting effects down the line because of this). Remember the buzz about wearable computers back in the early 00's? Smartphones and tablets took over that space. More and more of our communication will be through technology as time goes on. Hell, more and more of our society in general will be digitized; we're already seeing popular music transition. You might roll your eyes at the kids at EDM concerts, but those same DJs are the ones producing the Billboard hits that top the charts for most of the world.
I don't want to downplay that we are definitely experiencing growing pains from the rise of smartphones and social media, but I truly believe that this is part of our evolution as a species.
Earthbound64
Banned
I suppose, but always being connected? That's a smartphone thing.
It made the internet this super tangible thing. It's merely a pockets reach away.
Edit: If I ever become a parent (hopefully never) I'm gonna be one of those lame ass ones that don't allow them to have a smartphone till they're 18.
Maybe a tablet, laptops are totally fine.
You joke, but 94/95 is actually a pretty good dividing line. I'm '94 and look at smartphones and social media in a completely different way from my brothers born in '96 and '99.
There hasn't been a paradigm shift this large probably since the widespread adoption of the automobile. We're going to need to take a serious look at how devices are affecting late Millenials and early Gen Z.