Today, someone even started a thread about how the world is falling apart because children spend too much time indoors with the internet and other gadgets and that curiosity is no longer upheld as a important part of life.
So, because I don't know how to hold my tongue, I replied:
I know I sound like I'm just asserting my same points in all the previous threads , but perhaps the arguments people bring out in these threads essentially converge into the same thing about what is this world coming into.
I, too, grew up in the early 90s where cell phones were the size of bricks and a game console system is for families with a lot of money. I loved hanging out with my friends on my bikes to go to the park or local convenient store to buy chips and candy with my measly allowance. Sure, I have my reservations about the way the next generation is growing up--I mean, is spending all this time in front of electronics and the Internet good for them?
But the reality is, I don't know.
I don't think curiosity is obliterated because we spend time indoors. In fact, because of the Internet, I probably gained a lot more knowledge, useful for not, than I would have should Internet not have existed my entire life.
I also am reserved about the argument that we don't appreciate things like music and books because they come more easily at our disposal. To regurgitate what I've been saying in many other threads, thirty years ago, our grandparents were lamenting on the generations deteriorating and that they spend TOO much time in record stores and disco clubs.
I am neither arguing that society is changing for the better or for the worse. To me, it is just a plain fact that society *is* changing, as it always is and always has been. And with these changes, what doesn't change is the social responsibility of improving the changing system and ensuring that, in spite of new values and new manners and new grammar, even, the fundamental ethics in life, and more importantly, humanism, are still continually being taught and nurtured into the next generation, whether it is through social media or through any other lifestyle choices and means of entertainment and living.
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I feel like the people complaining about such things either are overwhelmed/scared by the changes they are observing or believe what you've stated in the last sentence is becoming more impossible because of the technological and societal shifts. For one, I think computers did bring about a certain personality type. Although, my view could be skewed because I have not lived in the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc, but there is a particular nerd personality, at least in the CS realm. The one I'm talking about is the one of nerds with big egos and starting every question with "why don't you...?", presuming the answer to the supposed question.
Anyway, I think it's an interesting discussion to have, however, get used to the fact that almost every discussion online will be polarized (hell, even in real life, often times) and having an honest debate is just hard.
That was an awesome response for thought T. The computer/Internet age has brought on a multitude of personalities, probably not just one.
And it's funny now that you mentioned it, I have met a crazy number of people around my company who begins everything with why don't yous, assuming you're an idiot from the start. It's true that staying at home and limiting social exposure to the online world is quite problematic in this era, even I am guilty of that sometimes.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that with every change, more things change. Every change, I believe, comes with good and bad and we just have to keep pushing to make sure that we figure out what is bad to make the bad better, rather than lamenting about the world coming to an end.
Internet culture is a scary culture--because of these crazy polarized conversations!
So, one of the things I do at work is skim the news in the morning. Sure, it's a waste of time and I should be getting things done, but anyway. The point of this rambling is that I stumbled upon a piece in the Globe about a recent book. It appears, we are petrified that we have technology that made certain tasks obsolete and it scares people (I do wonder how many people know how to milk a cow or ride a horse).
The other thing that I was thinking about recently is all the comments about the "dumbing down" of the generation coming from political commentators. From talking to people, young and old, I've realized that most are happy if things are going well in their lives and considering the national policy questions is not exactly their biggest concern. I also feel like that has been true for centuries, however there also appears to be a difference now.
One thing I observed is that a lot of younger people don't tend to think along political lines. Their delineation of what is right and wrong often doesn't fall in line with an established divide. This could be the function of the people that I talk to, but if it is true at a larger scale, I can see why it would scare the political parties. In a country where there are typically 2 choices (the third is to waste your vote, typically), having people think outside that boundary would be petrifying.
One other thing, if you're bored and feel like getting a better idea about the online culture in US, pick a political news story and read some of the comments. I do this with both left- and right-leaning publications and once I read the comments, it guarantees depression for me for at least one day, until I remember to not think about it. The fact that people can't see beyond all the labels and hatred that at the end of the day we're all pretty similar makes me lose all hope. Oh well, I'm sure lots of people before my time felt the same way :)
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