Poll: Digital technology and our youth

[romans1212]

Because I have teenagers, I was interested in the research on this. I have my own opinions on this, but thought I'd throw this out there to see what ODT thinks. Please vote! I'd appreciate your thoughts, comments on this subject below.

Technology= Internet, PS4, xbox, other gaming devices, iPhones and iPads, apps, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram etc.

Kids and young adults= 12-25 years old primarily

 

[billieco]

Mostly positive because of the world we live in. However, it's hard for me to agree with it because of my age. It's the future for our kids even if we don't like it. Some of the major game makers are even offering college scholarships for "E" sports. My kids are excited about that.

 

[jhunter]

At 24 Y.O. I've been lucky to realize a life outside digital things. Unfortunately I believe many kids & young adults spend way to much time caught up in social media and gaming devices. I believe a lot of times the "escape from reality" through video games and etc. is what is addicting to youngins. In my opinion the addiction of video games and social media, can be as strong as someone with an actual drug/alcohol addiction; because, of the "escape from reality" factor. With that being said I definitely enjoy Xbox on occasion.

 

[GeauxLSU]

I had a relevant conversation the other day with a co-worker and he suggested the internet is making kids 'dumb'. I, in general, hold a fairly dim view of social media for kids so I was interested in his logic. He made a good point I thought. He gave this following example; when we were kids we had to figure stuff out. For example, if we wanted to build a tree house, you got a hammer, some nails, some type of wood, a buddy and you began to figure out how to build it. Made mistakes no doubt and LEARNED what worked and what didn't.
Today, Google/YouTube: "How to build a tree house."

 

[alleycat]

This is the digital age and we all need fast easy access to info. It's preparing our young people to function and thrive in that world. They find friends, build relationships, and learn about things while connected....these things were done much more slowly and in-person in our generation. For me, we were able to find more college scholarship money by using the web than by filling out forms locally, and we depend online reviews to shop for doctors, contractors, restaurants, etc.. We all must admit that we'll look at youtube videos before we read the directions....lol. I believe the good far outweighs the bad.

There are certainly ways it can be harmful (predators, identity theft, etc) but there are safeguards and other ways to deal with that. i wonder if parents are learning about those so they can teach their kids though. Seems that i remember my parents and grandparents saying some of the same things about TV and the telephone that we hear about the internet now.

 

[TresMonos]

It depends on the parents.....I voted Tacos because you don't have that option as a choice.

If the parents leave them to their own devices (no pun intended) they can and probably will be influenced in many negative ways....if those same parents teach their children to make good decisions, have a strong sense of moral character and understand consequences, right/wrong.....in other words give them the tools to navigate the world and indeed show them that the world is a real place not some virtual playground, then the kids should be OK.

 

[GFB]

Double edged sword. I didn't grow up with computers or cell phones, but I use them every day now. In fact, I think I've given myself ADD symptoms over the past couple years fiddling with electronics. I don't know what the world will be like 20 years from now but I have a hard time imagining attention span, critical thinking, literacy, and research skills are going to improve on average. On the other hand, most of us have to be able to use a computer and even a smart phone and that's not going away. I imagine there has to be some balance.

 

[emptyMAGS]

It depends on the parents.....I voted Tacos because you don't have that option as a choice.

If the parents leave them to their own devices (no pun intended) they can and probably will be influenced in many negative ways....if those same parents teach their children to make good decisions, have a strong sense of moral character and understand consequences, right/wrong.....in other words give them the tools to navigate the world and indeed show them that the world is a real place not some virtual playground, then the kids should be OK.

Oh technology is ****ing with their minds. Its turning them into anti-social instant gratification junkies who don't deal well with rejection. Parents are ultimately to blame for allowing most kids to need and use some form of communication device 24/7.

My brother in law (17yo) told me boys rarely speak to females in person in school anymore. Instead they follow and stalk each other on facegram and instabook until someone gets the balls to message a girl to hang out (have sex). And everyone wears their headphones to class to avoid speaking to anyone between classes.

 

[Hussar]

Remember, no internet = No ODT

 

[motorhead]

I told my boys and wife if i caught them on fartbook or any of that crap i'd stomp their phones into oblivion. All those social media platforms are good for is to get info on you and family through your kids . Personally i won't let anyone take pics of me or my family period. I may seem like a hard case but i let people know what i want them to know . The ODT is the only forum i've ever been on. I've ran checks on myself , i don't buy info on myself because that just gives them your I.P. address and i dang sure don't trust google gmail yahoo or any other . The reason i know is i watched a guy go on the web (he works for the govt .)and he could get any info on anybody and trick them into giving info on themselves using other peoples pics to describe himself, and people actually puked there whole lives out . smmfh..