Young People and Politics

[crazy canuck]

CC that absent-minded approach to thins is NOT a generational thing, come on.

I did not say anything about an absent minded approach, nor did I say anything about the impact of social media affecting only one generation.

The thing that is generational though is the impact smart phones are having on education.  We are just starting to see the impact of that.  It will probably take another decade to fully understand the impact.

[Grey Fox]

But overall aye. Big problems for young boys these days. I wonder if this is an English speaking world thing  or they're seeing it abroad too? I hope/guess it's nowhere near as bad.

For Quebec francophone system it is different mainly that first the children need to learn English enough for the Anglo sphere class war to reach them. There's of course a francophone one but it has different points of emphasis.

I also think since Quebec's system finishes high school so young and sends the teens to a new school system that doesn't cuddle them anymore might have an effect too.

[Josquius]

I remember back when I was in school, long before smart phones, phones were basically banned.
 you couldn't use them at break time, using them during class would be like standing up and shouting "fuck sticks" .
I wonder when things changed.

But overall aye. Big problems for young boys these days. I wonder if this is an English speaking world thing  or they're seeing it abroad too? I hope/guess it's nowhere near as bad.

As to twitter and destroying conversation - strikes me this is something an academic should have looked into. Anyone heard of any research into the correlation between the rise in social media and decline in old school forums? I wonder when the key tipping points were.
A fair few years after Facebook dropped it's awesome uni link closed network system I'd guess.

There is an excellent book on the topic, and yes it is indeed a topic of study.  We have discussed the findings of the research over the years here. Decline in concentration, decline in reading comprehension, decline in the ability ti read longer text, the list goes on and on.

The book if you are interested

https://www.amazon.ca/Reader-Come-Home-Reading-Digital/dp/0062388770/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=aLMCx&content-id=amzn1.sym.292e2174-5767-4018-85e7-6b1a9086d346&pf_rd_p=292e2174-5767-4018-85e7-6b1a9086d346&pf_rd_r=133-8607851-0059915&pd_rd_wg=2IOsL&pd_rd_r=fddc9b42-7c9a-4756-94a8-1466bee7de9e&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk

Thanks.
I shall add it to the gargantuan list of things I need to read.

[Norgy]

Rock and roll wasn't pestering you in school,sending continuous notifications. Pulp magazines could be engrossing, but never enough for you to tune out completely your surroundings. Your turntable wasn't engineered to capture your attention, and request constant likes. Your browsing of magazines wasn't producing shiny moving pictures and bright colors that would also distract your comrades. Fads of the past weren't integrated with a device upon which the rest of your life could be hitched. In short, it did not produce what increasingly looks like an addiction.

This year will be the 20th year I have been teaching at the college level. It is enough to remember a time before the prevalence of social media in our everyday life - and certainly in students' everyday life. There is a marked decline in capacity to concentrate among students and to read complex sentences. The only students who once were as jittery as many I have now were those who were anxiously eyeing the clock for a cigarette break.

It doesn't need to be a panic. But to cling to the idea that there is nothing new under the sun is to miss the specificity of our times, and its specific challenges.

In 10-15 years' time, people will wonder why our generation let social media loose on kids.

From using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, all I see is vitriol and rough comparison between "friends". As a young adult, you don't need that. You need some affirmation that you're worth something. And social media, in my opinion, does the opposite.

I am not sure if Johann Hari is the best of sources, but I found both "Stolen Focus" and "Lost Connections" somewhat enlightening, not just because of the writing, but because he was open about his sources.

"The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" by Zuboff is also worth a read.

After the massacre on July 22nd 2011 in Norway, young people have been at best reluctant to join youth movements, left, centre or right. And that is just sad. They don't really vote, it is us, the Gen X and the boomers who vote. They protest. At times. Young males vote almost exclusively rightist parties.

Now, it is time for that cigarette break, I think.

[crazy canuck]

Thanks.
I shall add it to the gargantuan list of things I need to read.

 

[crazy canuck]

Rock and roll wasn't pestering you in school,sending continuous notifications. Pulp magazines could be engrossing, but never enough for you to tune out completely your surroundings. Your turntable wasn't engineered to capture your attention, and request constant likes. Your browsing of magazines wasn't producing shiny moving pictures and bright colors that would also distract your comrades. Fads of the past weren't integrated with a device upon which the rest of your life could be hitched. In short, it did not produce what increasingly looks like an addiction.

This year will be the 20th year I have been teaching at the college level. It is enough to remember a time before the prevalence of social media in our everyday life - and certainly in students' everyday life. There is a marked decline in capacity to concentrate among students and to read complex sentences. The only students who once were as jittery as many I have now were those who were anxiously eyeing the clock for a cigarette break.

It doesn't need to be a panic. But to cling to the idea that there is nothing new under the sun is to miss the specificity of our times, and its specific challenges.

In 10-15 years' time, people will wonder why our generation let social media loose on kids.

From using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, all I see is vitriol and rough comparison between "friends". As a young adult, you don't need that. You need some affirmation that you're worth something. And social media, in my opinion, does the opposite.

I am not sure if Johann Hari is the best of sources, but I found both "Stolen Focus" and "Lost Connections" somewhat enlightening, not just because of the writing, but because he was open about his sources.

"The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" by Zuboff is also worth a read.

After the massacre on July 22nd 2011 in Norway, young people have been at best reluctant to join youth movements, left, centre or right. And that is just sad. They don't really vote, it is us, the Gen X and the boomers who vote. They protest. At times. Young males vote almost exclusively rightist parties.

Now, it is time for that cigarette break, I think.

One point of disagreement.  We are now wondering why we did it.  10-15 years from now it will hopefully be viewed as being as stupid as providing a space on school grounds for students to smoke.

[Norgy]

Thanks.
I shall add it to the gargantuan list of things I need to read.

Suggestion: If we all share our gargantuan lists of things we need to read, it will become super-gargantuan.

[Norgy]

One point of disagreement.  We are now wondering why we did it.  10-15 years from now it will hopefully be viewed as being as stupid as providing a space on school grounds for students to smoke.

Can't smoke at schools or in public places here anymore. In Sweden, I think they'll actually shoot you dead if you think of a cigarette near the entrance of a public building. Which, I suppose, saves one the bother of the lung cancer.

[crazy canuck]

One point of disagreement.  We are now wondering why we did it.  10-15 years from now it will hopefully be viewed as being as stupid as providing a space on school grounds for students to smoke.

Can't smoke at schools or in public places here anymore. In Sweden, I think they'll actually shoot you dead if you think of a cigarette near the entrance of a public building. Which, I suppose, saves one the bother of the lung cancer.

Yes, that is what I mean. When I was in high school there was a designated "smoke hole" for students to go have a smoke. As you say, people now would recoil in horror at the thought.  Hopefully the same happens with social media.

[Norgy]

Sorry, then I misread your post. 

[grumbler]

The solution we have developed at my school is to allow phones but to require students to turn them in as they enter each classroom.  We use these shoe organizers in every classroom so that we can ensure that we have the same number of phones turned in as there are students.  Students could bring burner phones so as to sneak their primary phone into class, but the penalty for getting caught using your phone in class is to have it confiscated until a parental unit comes to school to collect it from the dean.  Very few students will risk this, not only for the embarrassment of having the PU called, but also because the PU will likely be in no hurry to take the time to come to school.

[Jacob]

CC that absent-minded approach to thins is NOT a generational thing, come on.

Older people are also using phones and social media, so it wouldn't be surprising if they are seeing the same drop in ability to concentrate and comprehend.

[Razgovory]

I have problems with concentration and attention these days, and I'm an adult.

[Valmy]

I have problems with concentration and attention these days, and I'm an adult.

I always had a problem with concentration and attention. I feel like the modern world has made us ADD people mainstream.

[Jacob]

Anecdotally, even some folks on languish (and we are old) have trouble with reading comprehension...