Technology and the new awkward and socially inept generation of kids

Originally posted by davespanners
Coming from someone thats had social anxiety disorder since before it was fashionable I'm not so sure that these kids have sad, ......

S.A.D. is actually something different to your description. Thought I'd clear that up if people wished to research this topic.

Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, winter blues, summer depression, summer blues, or seasonal depression, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter or summer,[1] spring or autumn year after year.

And btw...all kids are spawn of satan and must be stopped at all costs from starting a zombie apocolypse.

Headshots would be useless, go for the phone, go for the phone!

The problem with socializing via the Internet is that it is so often context-deficient. It makes socializing with strangers and near-strangers as easy as talking to old friends.

If you are in person talking to your best friend who you have known for 30 years, you have a rich shared history, which makes his complements and insults meaningful. But if your interactions are with strangers on messageboards (cough...cough) or one of your nineteen zillion Facebook "friends," there is a much shallower pool of shared context to draw from. It's easy to pass judgements on strangers like this without knowing the true details of the situation or even if the person is just trolling and making things up. Conversely it's easy to take judgments from these strangers to heart yourself, without knowing really who they are or if their opinion should matter to you. The result is a kind of uneasily shifting social space where it's hard to get a bead on anything or anyone, or know what to make of anything people say. I think this generalized vagueness creates anxiety or at least a kind of unhealthiness.

I've lost interest in talking to people. I've essentially disowned my friends.
There really is no reason for me to go out?
I'm not spending all day on the computer, but a good portion of the day yes.
I've just become indifferent to everything and everyone around me honestly.

Reply to post by dominicus

What? Lol. You are mixing two totally different things together. While there is a culture that has been created around awkwardness its nothing new. Awkward people have always been around. Tv shows and what not started to use it for humor which actually lead people who are awkward to accept themselves for who they are and laugh it off.

Technology in no way makes kids more or less awkward. I mean they still have to go to school and interact with their peers. Most kids still like to hang out with their friends. Teenagers still like to go out and actually use technology to set things up. I could go on. I think you are just out of touch lol.


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reply to post by acmpnsfal

I think you are just out of touch lol.

sorry, but was once a kid and remember how kids were then, prior to all the screens that seem to zombify them these days (phone, internet, tv) and I'm spotting more social awkwardness then I ever have. It's an observation.

As far as out of touch .......what does that mean? I go for a walk or ride my bike through forests or off to work ...where I go ....there I am .....in the moment ...in touch with the moment

Reply to post by dominicus

Out of touch as in you don't understand how the youth of today do things. Plus your observations dont sound all that reliable. I mean you say you've seen the awkwardness, but did you attempt to engage any of them in conversation? You cannot look at someone and so oh they are awkward lol.


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In today's world you can be technologically inclined even to the point of it being excessive and still make something good out of your life. In reality not everyone has to be good face-to-face with other people.

Like in the poker world the new generation of professionals all play online poker which means, in general, many more hands per hour and much more money. It makes it so they aren't as good in a live game but they are just fine with their seven figure bank accounts.

The future is here...

I, btw, am only 25 years old but still prefer the face-to-face kind of deal,

Although the current radiation dangers of cell-phones are often pooh-poohed, it will become especially appalling if in a few years a generation comes down with some kinds of cancer.

In SA I think adverts by cellular phone companies aimed at kids under 12 are banned (and some marketed to that group have been pulled).
The fear is that they have "thinner skulls".
However, keeping them on in pockets along the thighs with marrow and blood production has also raised concerns.

How long have they been in mass usage?
How can we be sure it's safe?

Here and there one sees a concerning documentary, but the possible physical effects don't raise much alarm.

Well, we'll see.

reply to post by acmpnsfal

Out of touch as in you don't understand how the youth of today do things. Plus your observations dont sound all that reliable. I mean you say you've seen the awkwardness, but did you attempt to engage any of them in conversation? You cannot look at someone and so oh they are awkward lol.

i do a little mentoring on the side and have several nephews/nieces. Some that actually are told to go outside and play .....there is a HUGE difference between those told to go play and the ones that are wrapped in screens. I posted this because Im around kids alot in life, family, friendships ... first hand observation. I would even bet you a crisp new hundo that if they did some peer reviewed study, it would pan out exactly as I laid it out

Originally posted by Glass
reply to post by poloblack

 

I'm turning 22 in a couple months. Not a kid. Just saying.

I meant no disrespect, and found you to be very mature and intelligent. My context of ''kid'' was not meant to be in any way condenscending towards you. You'll see the context of what that meant when you're 39.

Originally posted by Quibbler
reply to post by Consequence

 

It's not just "doing hard work". It's that people are becoming so dependent on this technology that they are losing their ability to do anything without it.
The dishwasher and washing machine have been around for a while now, and are poor examples to relate to this situation.

I was referring to the "calculating by hand" example, and it was as bad as example as doing the dishes.
Doing math is not about typing in things into a calculator or mechanically calculating, it is about how to solve problems. Actually spending time on the mechanical part is as pointless may it be done in thought, on paper or on a calculator.
And yes, you get better at each of these mechanical things if you just keep at it. Just like washing dishes.
A good example is the elder generation (I can only relate to my parents and their circle) that they are quite good at calculating on paper, but they have very limited skills in math. They are not highly educated, but they could have learnt more math during their education, had they been using their time on math instead of calculations.

Calculations require you to know and understand how math works, rather than just type it into a calculator and *poof* magically a number appears. I don't think any functioning person couldn't scrub their dishes if they didn't have their dishwasher.

My point exactly. A calculations require you to know and understand how math works. A calculator doesn't help you, you need to know how to solve the problem. The numbers don't appear magically if you don't know how to solve your problem.