Saturday, June 23, 2012
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Social Media & the youth of today
I wrote this response to an article by Pat Gleason, a teacher at Red Bluff High School in Los Angeles. He has been a teacher there since 1990. You can see his article and comments from others including my response at: http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/opinion/ci_12748230
Hello,
A very good article but limited in its perspective. I just wanted to present a few contrasts to the things you have mentioned here. First and foremost, most people who use the social networking tools online that list friends do not actually consider most of these people friends. Contacts would be a much clearer label. We all make contacts daily whether with friends, family, coworkers, service personal at local establishments, even strangers on the street at times.
Cell or mobile phones are a great tool for those who have a need to be reached in a hurry. They are also a priceless tool in an emergency situation. I believe all persons who can should have and carry a cell phone. In your situation as a teacher you may not feel the need for an instant communication device. I would bet that if you spoke with your family they would all say they would feel more comfortable and more secure if they had the ability to reach you instantly in an emergency.
I agree being 49 years old we do not consider ourselves old school. It is not our age that makes us old school rather it is our attitudes. So yes we can be considered old school in our outlook on life, technology or change.
The one absolute constant in life, communication and society is change. While many of us will disagree with much of that change in our lifetimes it is inevitable. The shortening of words, names and phrases has been going on for centuries. It is another aspect of change that is and will be. If we were to travel back to 1776 and talk with many people we would also have a hard time understanding them just as would be the case if we went forward in time 250 years.
The generational differences in slang and word usage are also part of the issue here. There are many terms today that are used inconsistently with past meanings or usage. This again is part of the natural evolution of communication through the years and generations. However the texting phenomenon has added a new wrinkle. The acronyms or abbreviations used in texting can totally baffle someone without any experience in communicating in a instant message environment. But just as hair styles and clothing styles are used to set apart one generation from another so can forms and types of communication.
I totally agree with you on two issues here today. First, eye contact is something to watch for in others. However I have always found those who do not make eye contact when speaking to a person do it for a variety of reasons none of which have to do with texting, instant or internet communications.
Second, friends are those close to you, those you interact with personally and those you choose to have in your life. Yet how did you meet those and become friends? Today's social media sites allow many to meet who never would have without the advances in technology and communication. It gives us all a means to possibly meet new friends though most will just stay contacts.
I think the bigger issue here is the value placed on friendship. Many of our young people do understand the value of a true friend, both being one and having one. Yet sadly so many do not and have no experience to use to judge whether a friendship is true or not. Many have neither role models to watch nor examples to use in developing their values. This slack of human interaction at home and lack of meaningful interaction outside the home has helped to lead to a large group of our youth being unable to feel secure about who hey are and this leads to isolation and withdrawal. Yet to try to assign the blame for this on cell phones, the internet, video games etc. is simply trying to blame the condition on the symptoms. Many youth play video games, text friends, surf the web, social network and understand the difference between friends and contacts. It is not the tools and toys we use that are a problem. It is the way some use them and the reasons they use them that make it a problem for them.
So yes you are still a sane, logical, level-headed individual and yet at the same time it does seem that you are also out of the loop regarding certain things. This only makes you as human as the rest of us since we are all out of the loop on certain things. One answer may be to try to teach the youth about friendship and values not try to rationalize the issue through statements such as it is only the bad kids or the ones who did not like me saying this.
Hello,
A very good article but limited in its perspective. I just wanted to present a few contrasts to the things you have mentioned here. First and foremost, most people who use the social networking tools online that list friends do not actually consider most of these people friends. Contacts would be a much clearer label. We all make contacts daily whether with friends, family, coworkers, service personal at local establishments, even strangers on the street at times.
Cell or mobile phones are a great tool for those who have a need to be reached in a hurry. They are also a priceless tool in an emergency situation. I believe all persons who can should have and carry a cell phone. In your situation as a teacher you may not feel the need for an instant communication device. I would bet that if you spoke with your family they would all say they would feel more comfortable and more secure if they had the ability to reach you instantly in an emergency.
I agree being 49 years old we do not consider ourselves old school. It is not our age that makes us old school rather it is our attitudes. So yes we can be considered old school in our outlook on life, technology or change.
The one absolute constant in life, communication and society is change. While many of us will disagree with much of that change in our lifetimes it is inevitable. The shortening of words, names and phrases has been going on for centuries. It is another aspect of change that is and will be. If we were to travel back to 1776 and talk with many people we would also have a hard time understanding them just as would be the case if we went forward in time 250 years.
The generational differences in slang and word usage are also part of the issue here. There are many terms today that are used inconsistently with past meanings or usage. This again is part of the natural evolution of communication through the years and generations. However the texting phenomenon has added a new wrinkle. The acronyms or abbreviations used in texting can totally baffle someone without any experience in communicating in a instant message environment. But just as hair styles and clothing styles are used to set apart one generation from another so can forms and types of communication.
I totally agree with you on two issues here today. First, eye contact is something to watch for in others. However I have always found those who do not make eye contact when speaking to a person do it for a variety of reasons none of which have to do with texting, instant or internet communications.
Second, friends are those close to you, those you interact with personally and those you choose to have in your life. Yet how did you meet those and become friends? Today's social media sites allow many to meet who never would have without the advances in technology and communication. It gives us all a means to possibly meet new friends though most will just stay contacts.
I think the bigger issue here is the value placed on friendship. Many of our young people do understand the value of a true friend, both being one and having one. Yet sadly so many do not and have no experience to use to judge whether a friendship is true or not. Many have neither role models to watch nor examples to use in developing their values. This slack of human interaction at home and lack of meaningful interaction outside the home has helped to lead to a large group of our youth being unable to feel secure about who hey are and this leads to isolation and withdrawal. Yet to try to assign the blame for this on cell phones, the internet, video games etc. is simply trying to blame the condition on the symptoms. Many youth play video games, text friends, surf the web, social network and understand the difference between friends and contacts. It is not the tools and toys we use that are a problem. It is the way some use them and the reasons they use them that make it a problem for them.
So yes you are still a sane, logical, level-headed individual and yet at the same time it does seem that you are also out of the loop regarding certain things. This only makes you as human as the rest of us since we are all out of the loop on certain things. One answer may be to try to teach the youth about friendship and values not try to rationalize the issue through statements such as it is only the bad kids or the ones who did not like me saying this.
Labels:
facebook,
myspace,
social media,
social networking,
twitter
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