10-27-2024, 10:33 AM
The main problem is that the vast majority of the children are being raised by their technology and becoming the next set of parents. "As long as the kid is content, I will not bother knowing what they are actually doing". The "hands free" kids are bringing what they learn to school or other social activities and the other kids hearing the freedom begin wondering why they are being "restricted". When going through their "rebellious" age, there is a need to be more involved in their life with conversations of why things can be seen as insulting to others and why all should strive for the golden rule.
I believe that we also need to do more activities (hopefully everyday) that do not involve electronics, to give everyone a chance to see how good life can be without needing to be constantly in connection with electronic devices. I recently had a conversation with my teenage nephew about how I spent the summer months without any communication with the majority of the people I hung out with at school. And even the ones I managed to get together with over the summer, was only for a couple of times (I lived out in the rural area on the border of the school district). He was afraid that if he did not keep up with them then they would stop being his friends. I told him that they will not stop being your friend if you didn't answer because you were out doing something with your family such as eating dinner or taking a walk. This is kind of hard to do because most of the conversations when I am around are catching-up on things from when we last met. I can understand the kids finding most of the conversation uninteresting (they only want to contribute to certain parts).
I do not like cursing/swearing, and one time to prove a point I started using curse and swear words in the general conversation with a group of friends. After about five minutes one friend asked me what was wrong, and I told them that I was just talking the way they do around me. All of them had bewildered looks on their face and said I was becoming scary (the timing was not long after the Columbine shootings, so there may have been some of that fear in them). I did get them to tone it down around me but know that they probably still talk as before most of the time. I know I have asked many as to why they are using such language, only to be met with "it's cool" or "everybody talks this way" (then why is it so scary when I do [I know it was because I don't curse and me cursing must be the signal of the end of the world is happening right now]).
I believe that we also need to do more activities (hopefully everyday) that do not involve electronics, to give everyone a chance to see how good life can be without needing to be constantly in connection with electronic devices. I recently had a conversation with my teenage nephew about how I spent the summer months without any communication with the majority of the people I hung out with at school. And even the ones I managed to get together with over the summer, was only for a couple of times (I lived out in the rural area on the border of the school district). He was afraid that if he did not keep up with them then they would stop being his friends. I told him that they will not stop being your friend if you didn't answer because you were out doing something with your family such as eating dinner or taking a walk. This is kind of hard to do because most of the conversations when I am around are catching-up on things from when we last met. I can understand the kids finding most of the conversation uninteresting (they only want to contribute to certain parts).
I do not like cursing/swearing, and one time to prove a point I started using curse and swear words in the general conversation with a group of friends. After about five minutes one friend asked me what was wrong, and I told them that I was just talking the way they do around me. All of them had bewildered looks on their face and said I was becoming scary (the timing was not long after the Columbine shootings, so there may have been some of that fear in them). I did get them to tone it down around me but know that they probably still talk as before most of the time. I know I have asked many as to why they are using such language, only to be met with "it's cool" or "everybody talks this way" (then why is it so scary when I do [I know it was because I don't curse and me cursing must be the signal of the end of the world is happening right now]).