The Internet/Smartphone is killing us?

[bpu699]

Japan now had a real life like sex doll. It's more popular in whore houses than real girls. Article was in dailymail.com....

So, we have a whole generation of kids...that won't procreate...

Contemplate that...

[legion]

My kids are 0, 2, and 6. They don't have any electronics of their own. The older two maybe get to borrow a device for an hour once a month.

When we go to restaurants, they have to do crazy stuff like talk and color. My older one has taken to word searches.

We play "I spy" on car trips...but we do have a DVD player (mostly for when we want them to calm down and nap). My 2-year-old is obsessed with finding train tracks.

My kids play outside every day the weather permits it. Today my six-year-old was begging me to let him clean dirt off of a tree stump (I kid you not).

The way I see it, you don't reminisce about your high score in Angry Birds with your kids...

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by legion

My kids are 0, 2, and 6. They don't have any electronics of their own. The older two maybe get to borrow a device for an hour once a month.

When we go to restaurants, they have to do crazy stuff like talk and color. My older one has taken to word searches.

We play "I spy" on car trips...but we do have a DVD player (mostly for when we want them to calm down and nap). My 2-year-old is obsessed with finding train tracks.

My kids play outside every day the weather permits it. Today my six-year-old was begging me to let him clean dirt off of a tree stump (I kid you not).

The way I see it, you don't reminisce about your high score in Angry Birds with your kids...

^^^^THIS, congrats on fighting the good fight amoungst the electronic sheeple.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Sorry guys, but I see people of all ages staring at their phones. I know it's easy to paint this as a problem of the younger generations, but I see plenty of 50+ people glued to their phones. On the upside, I saw a survey recently that Facebook amongst younger age groups is declining in popularity. Eventually things will come full circle, that much I believe.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by McLovin

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/

Long article, I've never seen so many words used to describe so little. Definitely paid by the word on this one. She's my age and I can see where she's coming from but have to struggle through the entire piece and fact check it. I'm sure what she describes is significantly more prevalent in coastal cities than it is in the midwest.

Screen time is definitely a part of it but I think the bigger picture of our downfall is more WALL-E. Humanity shines most brightly in the face of challenge. I also think a key element to self-esteem is found in the physical, not just mental and emotional states. Technology that makes everything easy will drain the human spirit more than anything else.

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by flipper35

George Orwell had it wrong. We gladly put them in our pockets without thinking twice about it.

You are soooo correct. I am doing my best to resist. I have no Google account. I have a smart phone with no downloaded aps. Never registered an account with the provider. Google my real name and nothing comes up. I am not paranoid, I just hate the Big Brother aspect of the technology I love.

[ZOO]

The eminent Marshall McLuhann reminded us that first we shape the tools, and then the tools shape us.

This has been true since the first thing we made.

[Holger]

MIL (almost 70) sent my wife a vacation-picture via WhatsApp last week, then seconds later fell and broke her shoulder (and the phone).
I bet she was distracted by the phone and did not notice the step.
Surgery today ...

[impactbumper]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Sorry guys, but I see people of all ages staring at their phones. I know it's easy to paint this as a problem of the younger generations, but I see plenty of 50+ people glued to their phones. On the upside, I saw a survey recently that Facebook amongst younger age groups is declining in popularity. Eventually things will come full circle, that much I believe.

This is true. Not long ago I had fb, twitter, ig... etc

Cut it all off. I have a couple of forums i visit once very often, thats it. However I still sit in front of a computer, still use the internet to get information during the day. It is part of life.

However, nowadays social media is the new internet. That itself consumes people. Most social media channels are designed to capture our attention 100% for their survival. They feed of our attention. I cut myself from most popular social media. At first feels like emptiness but then I realized how much better life was before then. I have only one kid, he is not allowed on fb, ig etc. Most of his friends are already active on those platforms. Crazy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by R K T

I have a question about our phones.......

The other night my wife and I were talking about maybe doing a Hawaii vacation for our upcoming 30th anniversary. Just general conversation about which islands, which hotels etc.
Her phone was laying on the coffee table and mine was in my pocket. The next morning we both had ads on our email for hotels in Hawaii!

Are our phones listening to us? Even when they aren't "on"?

Freakin' scary if so.

(whoops- I originally copied and pasted the wrong quote/ hopefully it's gone now and this is the right one)

I remember several years ago discovering how intrusive google was. On my google email account, I would deliberately insert a word in a message. "Hey honey, thinking about a flat screen tv." Immediately, there would be ads for flat screen TV's. It was sickening. Now, it's commonplace.

You and you wife should conduct an experiment.
Place the smart phones where you normally do. Each night discuss new topics which have not been discussed before..

"I would like to take a trip to Paraguay"
"Sure would like to get some info on Alaskan Cruises."

[onewhippedpuppy]

Any device that allows you to ask questions via speech is always listening unless you turn that feature off. For instance I turn off the "hey Siri" functionality on all of my Apple devices. Now how off it ever is, that's probably up for debate.....

[p911dad]

We have noticed over the past few years the seeming disappearence of the older kids in the neighborhood. The youngest kids still play and ride their bikes, etc., but the others are nowhere to be seen, maybe except going and coming from school. Few ride the bus. We know they are still here. And only one of the 6 or so late teens on our street are actually ever seen driving. And they are never seen in groups, like in the old days. This article brought that into focus. Hmmm

[wdfifteen]

I look at the internet and social media as two different things. I don't get social media. I do not understand the desire to constantly connect with others that so many people have. But I'm not very social anyway (I hate parties and events where people are supposed to enjoy being together just for the hell of it), so maybe it's just me.

I see myself being more impatient than I was before the instant gratification of google was available. I can look up just about anything I want in a matter of seconds. I am more knowledgeable now, but I'm so used to grabbing the laptop to look up every little thing that I feel bereft without it.

[berettafan]

yes, I believe internet/smart phones are more bad than good.

[legion]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Sorry guys, but I see people of all ages staring at their phones. I know it's easy to paint this as a problem of the younger generations, but I see plenty of 50+ people glued to their phones. On the upside, I saw a survey recently that Facebook amongst younger age groups is declining in popularity. Eventually things will come full circle, that much I believe.

This is true as well. My wife and I have a few simple rules for ourselves (and a lot of it has to do with setting an example for the kids):

1) If we are having a conversation, the phone can wait until we are done.
2) No phones at the dinner table.
3) No phones while driving. (On car trips, the non-driving spouse handles any/all phone duties.)

Often at lunch with my coworkers, the conversation dies down and they all retreat to their phones. I never pull mine out. I make faces at them that they don't notice.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Are there even kids cartoons anymore?

and then there 10 year olds watching porn... not sure what that is doing to their brains.

Sure, our 7 year old loves Wild Kratts, Dinosaur Train and Transformers: Rescue Bots.

[Crowbob]

Of all the threads during my ignominious tenure here, this one is clearly the most disturbing to me. I'm not even sure I should fight digitization let alone how I would go about it.

Globalization has never before been experienced. It wil be interesting to see how mankind adapts and survives.

Showing love to others seems to be a good start.

[scottmandue]

I don't have kids but am proud to say none of my cats have smart phones!
They do like to watch TV thou.

After thinking about this thread, I don't think it is internet/smart phones are killing us... social media is killing us.

I'm old and cranky enough to remember going from small flip phones to smart phones. On business trips the cell phone was a God send, call/text your coworkers if your flight is delayed, you didn't have to wait for your coworkers to go out, if someone wanted to veg out after work in their hotel room fine... but if the adventurist ones went out on the town and found a great restaurant or club with a great band just text the guy back at the hotel to meet you there.

I'm pretty sure 99% of the zombies we see staring at there phones walking down the street or sitting in a restaurant are on social media of some type.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Sorry guys, but I see people of all ages staring at their phones. I know it's easy to paint this as a problem of the younger generations, but I see plenty of 50+ people glued to their phones.

Yes, you're right. Younger people aren't the only ones with a terminal case of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Even the beauty of the Pacific Ocean couldn't compete with the lure of the little screen for this guy and his son. Kind of sad in a way...

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

On the upside, I saw a survey recently that Facebook amongst younger age groups is declining in popularity.

That maybe so but they're still not spending any less time zoned out on their phones. Instead of FB, they're now using different sites that most of us probably haven't even heard of yet.

[flipper35]

I don't get work email on my phone. My regular email has no notifications when I get one. Sometimes I do check it though if I am waiting on something for a long time, but even the Dr office I read a magazine. We don't do social media other than Pelican (yins are all abnormal anyway). If it requires more than an ask and reply I hate texting. Call at that point. I do like being able to look up a place to eat when out of town or checking facts. Then again, I only have a smart phone because it was a better deal than a flip phone.