Originally Posted By RoadTrip wahooskipper posted a great question on the cell phone thread. I thought it deserved its own topic, so I am creating one. <<I do have an unusual fear of certain technologies because I do think it remains to be seen what the lasting impact on society will be. Take video games. Apparently there is a popular video game where you beat up or kill homeless people. We had a rash of homeless killings here a few months back and 3 teenagers have been arrested and charged. I don't think playing a game will cause you to be a killer...but it can't help any...can it? What is happening to attention spans? What are the effects of the circuitry of these cell phones being right up against your head all the time? What is happening to social skills as a result of the internet?>> I think technology has been a wonderful benefit to society. But it has also created much harm. The first thing that comes to mind is how kids today seem much more interested in playing video games than in playing sports... and have the waistlines to prove it. What do others think about these questions?
Originally Posted By sherrytodd I think that technology also contributes to the fears of society, mainly the TV. The news has to make ratings and does so by broadcasting sensationized horrors. We see this and it creates a filter through which we view the world. We see the world, even our own backyards with much more fear then our parents and grandparents did. The world is not a more dangerous place then it was back then, but how we perceive the world now is much darker.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I used to run summer camp programs. In the early years of Game Boys we had parents tell us that they didn't want their kid on the game all the time. Now, there is a "summer camp" program called Gaming Camp and the parent pays a couple of hundred dollars so that their kid can sit at a computer all day and play strategy games with the other kids. All the while, we keep hearing and reading about our kids and our society in general getting fatter, more out of shape, etc. The new technologies all seem to go toward making us more sedentary. Home theatre systems, TIVO, video games, etc. If there is balance then I don't see any problem. But, it sure doesn't appear balanced right now. And, I just don't think we really know what the lasting effects are. Those crazy phone receivers that people are wearing on their ears all day (Star Trek like). Where are the studies showing that long term use of those things are safe? I read a technology report that said within 15 years you will be able to have a chip imbeded in your head that will allow you to instantly connect with the Internet without any other equipment. That can't be a good thing, can it? Even if it is possible to do...should it be done? People are racing so face toward CAN we do it that they aren't thinking about IF we should do it.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan A lot of the reasons for kids being overweight is because, due to fears of abductions and such, kids just don't get to go out and play like they used to. Think about it. In most places, kids may be on an organized team sport. They may get to play in the backyard at most. We're all scared for our kids so we keep them under our watchful eye all the time... in the house. Sitting. Reading. Watching the tube or playing video games. Some parents would bubblewrap their kids, their fear of abduction is so paralyzing. So, yes, it comes back to balance. With some restrained use of technology, kids can get some of that freedom of movement back. For every negative a new technology creates, I can think of 20 positives.
Originally Posted By PlainoLJoe <<Some parents would bubblewrap their kids>> That would have been awesome as a kid. Bubblewrap and a set of stairs. GOOD TIMES!!!!
Originally Posted By vbdad55 As I posted on other thread ( part of the post) Who wrote the programming for that violent video game ? Kids -- I think not-- it was profit seeking adults and companies..so let's not point the finger at the kids. prosecute the SOBs that wrote and marketed the game....and slap the hands hard of the adults that turned their back while the kids played it. Parenting is the hardest job in the world.....but to blame technology for the ills of society is just plain wrong. Before video games they read books that taught them the same lessons, pornography and violence was not born on the internet...it was around long before... My daughter ( and most of her friends I see and know their parents) are very resposnsible with the phones -- when a kid abuses the privilege- they lose the phone -- my 12 year old can use EXCEL / POWERPOINT / OUTLOOK / -- rips her own music for her ipod and has zero fear of technology - yet she understands there are bad things and bad people in cyberspace as well as walking around. No Myspace.com in this house -- ( in fact her middle school has made awareness of this very strong ) - If not for her technical skills, my wife would never be able to watch our TV - surround sound - DVD etc when I am travelling -- as she is technology shy.
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF I think technology, in some ways, has had a detrimental effect on society. I don't know that I'd go so far as to say it's harmful; I'm going to have to give that some more thought. I can say I have a lot of ambivalence about it. I think it has had an effect on how we relate to each other socially. Cell phones allow us to be privy to conversations that are sometimes better kept private. They intrude public and private space, and some people (myself included) resent it. Yet, I have one. If it wasn't for my health issues and having to travel as much as I do, I probably would not have one. Today's technology is an introvert's ultimate dream. Computers and instant messaging and wi-fi allow us to be in public yet locked into our own little worlds. Go into any Starbucks and count the number of people on laptops vs. the number of people actually conversing face-to-face. It has even affected the way we're entertained. MP3s and iPods have helped turn music into a commodity, overshadowing it as an art form. Then again, I love the fact that I can have a large amount of music accessible to me when I'm on the go. Movies have become, virtually, a preview for the eventual DVD release. (And the window of time between a theatrical release and a home video release has narrowed considerably over the years.) I don't know about other people, but in a way DVDs have taken some of the fun away for me. There's no sense of anticipation or the pleasure of unexpectedly catching the rerun of a favorite program or movie. On a purely aesthetic note, I still prefer watching movies in theatres. I find that I pay better attention to them because I'm sort of forced to. No pause button or other ways to interrupt the movie. Yet I have a pretty big DVD collection. Sometimes I look at it and ask myself, "Why?" So, that's my take on it. Mine and mine only.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 I hope everyone realizes the same health related ( fat ) arguments here against computers / video games was made against television when it came out also. Well I look around and see a fat country -- and most people are computer illerate- so what would be the cause of that ? Not technology...it's called laziness. You have school systems that have dropped physical education from the curriculum -- because taxpayers voted down funding referendums... It is also up to the parents to help their children get exercise. My 12 year old gets 4+ hours a week of physical education in middle school. Has club volleyball practice ( first half of which is conditioning drills) - 7 1/2 hours a week and plays in tournaments 2 - 3 weekends a month Dec thru June....she also attends basketball camps.... so her time on the computer or cell phone or video game is not pasted to her hips....it is another form of entertainment only
Originally Posted By wahooskipper The argument WAS, in fact, made when TVs started inundating society. But, you didn't carry around the tv with you. (If you did back then you would CERTAINLY have got your fair share of exercise!)
Originally Posted By PlainoLJoe The only blame for an unhealthy overweight child is the parents. Plane and simple. You can blame whatever you want, but who bought the TV, computer, game-boy, x-box and didnt buy the baseball glove or basketball?
Originally Posted By vbdad55 you didn;t carry it around with you but let's recall: the blue glow from the TV will cause cancer if you watch TV lying down you will hurt your eyes if you sit too close you will go blind kids are watching too much TV instead of playing outside - kids don't need to see all that stuff on TV all sound familair ? I remember being told all of these as a child sitting in front of the Zenith or Admiral console with 4 - 5 channels
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Kids are overweight because people are petrified of child abductions. So, rather than getting to go and play, they are kept safe in the house, maybe the backyard, maybe an organized sport. Tree climbing, going on a long bike ride all over town, building a fort -- all that stuff is what keeps kids active and healthy, but parents are caught in a catch 22 of paranoia. Think of the last time you drove through a neighborhood, vs. how many of us grew up. Were there lots of kids outside? Probably not. Everything now, including play time, is structured and supervised and kept within a limited time frame. That, more than any technology, is what's doing the harm. Fear itself.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan if you sit too close you will go blind<< And we're all reading this within 2 feet of a computer monitor -- LOL!
Originally Posted By PlainoLJoe Yeah my neighborhood is pretty quiet. But I remember growing up and having a game of ditch-em with about 90 kids from the block (it was a long steet) every night of summer. I remember it clearly. My dad in the garage working on someones car, Shane Myers dad running his clogging class in his garage across the street. Ruban across the street watering his lawn, Tammys mom next door having bridge club and 90+ kids running up and down the street. But of course that was in Walnut, CA where the only major event was when 2 trains met on the tracks head to head. Which by the way is the answer to the old math question about the 2 trains. Its Walnut, CA.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I don't think kids need to see a good majorit of what is on tv today. I do think it affects some children in a negative way. I'm not so sure the tv didn't cause eye problems. I know the computers do as I am warned and threatened by my optometrist every time I go in.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss The one thing I can say about technology is that it isn't simplifying our lives. In the quest to give people products with more features, designers pile on the buttons and on-screen menus. The result is that nothing is particularly intuative to use anymore. So unless you're technically savvy, you need to read the manual for just about everything before you can operate it.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 And as a parent we should ensure they don't see things they shouldn't-- I have many channels blocked on my dish - but don't think that by them not seeing things on TV they don;t know about them.. as fr as eyesight- I have never been told by my optometrist ( other than don't do it 20 hours a day) - and my prescription has not changed in 20 years.. by the way - when I was a kid it was too much reading will hurth your eyes, and always " there's not enough light for you to read - don;t read in a moving vehicle" etc - it's always something
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Well, if you are the driver then you shouldn't be reading in a moving vehicle. I wish more people followed that rule of thumb!
