Quote:
Originally Posted by AXOrushadvisor
I think this has to do with a lot of different things. Electronics is a big one. Most kids don't go out and play around the neighborhood any more they text each other or play video games as compared to what I experienced. Kick the Can, King of the Hill and Hide and Seek in the Summer. Sledding all day every day in the snow in the winter. My kids would sit and watch tv or play video games all day every day if I allowed them. These kids, in my opinion, don't know how to talk because they always text even if they are next to each other. Can you imagine a texting recruitment. ha ha!!
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This!
We recently hired a few temps at my company, and I was basically heading the project with which they were involved. They ranged in ages from about 19-23. One day I was just chatting with them, and I asked them if they ever played some outside game (I can't remember which one), and they said they hadn't. I launched into this explanation and told them how I basically lived outside when I was a kid. My friends and I would go out in the snow at 8am, we'd come in around 2pm for some hot chocolate and a snack, then go right back outside for the rest of the day. I told them how we'd get to the bus stop early so we could play football.. And when we got home from school, we'd just drop our backpacks on the front lawn and be outside until dinner.
One of the temps turned to me and said, "Yea, but when we were younger, we actually had the internet and had other things to do inside." A couple others nodded in agreement.
The lack of interaction with other kids (or people in general) is astounding. We've had young people come to work at our company, usually on a temporary basis, and their parents work at the company as well. Any time they have an issue or a question, they go running to mommy or daddy. I've heard parents (my boss included) turn to their kid and say, "I don't know.. You need to go ask your manager." They don't know how to communicate.
I recently met a teacher (a friend of a family friend) who was talking to me about different ways that teachers are using technology in the classroom. Another teacher at her school was using iPhones and Twitter (I believe) so that students could answer questions in class. She explained that the teacher would allow everyone to use their iPhones, and any students who didn't have one would be given one when they were in class. When the teacher asked a question, she would post it online, the students would type their responses/analysis into their phones, and she would display the discussion on an overhead projector.. Or something more technologically advanced. Her reasoning behind this is to give the students who don't usually respond because they're too shy/don't like speaking up, the ability to post their thoughts and opinions.
I argued that you're hindering the students' ability to grow in the ways that they communicate (especially because they spend so much time already outside of class staring at their phones), but this teacher defended it. What say you, GCers?
Personally, I think technology is the bigger problem here.