Cellphones

[Bodi]

Are cell phones going to ruin social skills? I am a high school teacher so I understand the problem. But it is getting worse and worse. Went to a park with my kids. Groups of teenagers walking around. Great. In a park. Good for them. Problem. 7 kids in one. All on cell phones the whole time. 4 in another. All on phones not talking to each other as they walk. Walk past tea house. 13 of 16 adults on phones. Many ignoring kids trying to get their attention. What the **** is wrong with people?

 

[joG]

Are cellphones going to ruin social skills?

Mobiles have improved them.

 

[Bodi]

Mobiles have improved them.

Lol...

 

[Skeptic Bob]

No, it is just a different type of communication.

 

[joG]

Lol...

You are sooo mean!

 

[justabubba]

Are cell phones going to ruin social skills? I am a high school teacher so I understand the problem. But it is getting worse and worse. Went to a park with my kids. Groups of teenagers walking around. Great. In a park. Good for them. Problem. 7 kids in one. All on cell phones the whole time. 4 in another. All on phones not talking to each other as they walk. Walk past tea house. 13 of 16 adults on phones. Many ignoring kids trying to get their attention. What the **** is wrong with people?

i missed the part where you explained the bad outcomes

 

[Bodi]

i missed the part where you explained the bad outcomes

Not interacting with people is positive for our youth? Alright then. They interrupt more. Dont wait their turn. Cant spell (this is actually a huge issue now). Pavlovian obsession with them which is unhealthy.

 

[Bodi]

You are sooo mean!

I am soooo laughing at you right now...

 

[Bodi]

No, it is just a different type of communication.

I understand asking a bunch of internet nerds might get me biased results, in hind sight.

 

[ThePlayDrive]

BrewerBob beat me to it. Communication is changing. After the telephone became popular, people lamented that new generations weren't going to be good at letter writing or talking in person, but now hardly anybody makes such comments. Every generation adjusts to new technology and older generations get upset that the type of communication they're used to is being pushed to the back. Same ****, different century.

 

[Cephus]

No, it is just a different type of communication.

Which is true, but that's not the question being asked. I've seen kids literally sitting next to each other, texting each other because they have no idea how to actually talk anymore.

 

[chuckiechan]

At family functions we scoop up the kids cell phones.

I don't like the competition as I retell the stories from "the old ones" about land lines and walking to school through the snow.

They are fine with it. Especially when I give them a 5$ iTunes card for their trouble when I give them back Lol.

 

[AlbqOwl]

Are cell phones going to ruin social skills? I am a high school teacher so I understand the problem. But it is getting worse and worse. Went to a park with my kids. Groups of teenagers walking around. Great. In a park. Good for them. Problem. 7 kids in one. All on cell phones the whole time. 4 in another. All on phones not talking to each other as they walk. Walk past tea house. 13 of 16 adults on phones. Many ignoring kids trying to get their attention. What the **** is wrong with people?

I do believe some social skills are being lost but it probably is not all because of the cell phones. We are losing a lot of the traditions of previous generations--sitting around the table at meals and sharing the events of the day, teaching table manners, teaching how to set a proper table even. We aren't teaching the basics of old fashioned etiquette--the written thank you note, how to compose a proper letter, or other basic good manners. Few people even use snail mail any more and hand writing is fast disappearing--they are suggesting that cursive writing should no longer be taught. The ability to just sit and have a conversation with another person seems to be suffering and young people seem to be uncomfortable in social settings more than they used to be. Or maybe it just seems that way.

Certainly the cell phone 'short hand' people who text a lot use is eroding spelling and grammar skills. And people who stare at their phones for hours at a time are missing an awful lot of what is going on about them and in the world.

But I suppose every generation disapproves of the changes in the next, but I hate to lose many of the values that made our American culture unique and pretty great.

 

[Lutherf]

Are cell phones going to ruin social skills? I am a high school teacher so I understand the problem. But it is getting worse and worse. Went to a park with my kids. Groups of teenagers walking around. Great. In a park. Good for them. Problem. 7 kids in one. All on cell phones the whole time. 4 in another. All on phones not talking to each other as they walk. Walk past tea house. 13 of 16 adults on phones. Many ignoring kids trying to get their attention. What the **** is wrong with people?

This started with texting and now that everyone has smart phones the social media thing has kicked in too.

 

[gdgyva]

you know where it really shows up

in an interview

the ability to actually have a conversation....to answer questions with more than a yes or no

i see it so often....and it keeps people from getting a job

 

[Bodi]

Which is true, but that's not the question being asked. I've seen kids literally sitting next to each other, texting each other because they have no idea how to actually talk anymore.

And it isnt just the dummies... the group of four were top kids. Literally walking and texting. Looking things up. And the worst is some new poker game where they get credits or something? They are OBSESSED.

 

[Bodi]

At family functions we scoop up the kids cell phones.

I don't like the competition as I retell the stories from "the old ones" about land lines and walking to school through the snow.

They are fine with it. Especially when I give them a 5$ iTunes card for their trouble when I give them back Lol.

My girls cell phone can only call me, 911 and their mum.

 

[Bodi]

I do believe some social skills are being lost but it probably is not all because of the cell phones. We are losing a lot of the traditions of previous generations--sitting around the table at meals and sharing the events of the day, teaching table manners, teaching how to set a proper table even. We aren't teaching the basics of old fashioned etiquette--the written thank you note, how to compose a proper letter, or other basic good manners. Few people even use snail mail any more and hand writing is fast disappearing--they are suggesting that cursive writing should no longer be taught. The ability to just sit and have a conversation with another person seems to be suffering and young people seem to be uncomfortable in social settings more than they used to be. Or maybe it just seems that way.

Certainly the cell phone 'short hand' people who text a lot use is eroding spelling and grammar skills. And people who stare at their phones for hours at a time are missing an awful lot of what is going on about them and in the world.

But I suppose every generation disapproves of the changes in the next, but I hate to lose many of the values that made our American culture unique and pretty great.

I remember hearing my grandpa complain that nobody usex the Pony Express any more...

...this telegraph thing!!

 

[Bodi]

you know where it really shows up

in an interview

the ability to actually have a conversation....to answer questions with more than a yes or no

i see it so often....and it keeps people from getting a job

Good point...

 

[Dragonfly]

 

[RJApple]

Are cell phones going to ruin social skills? I am a high school teacher so I understand the problem. But it is getting worse and worse. Went to a park with my kids. Groups of teenagers walking around. Great. In a park. Good for them. Problem. 7 kids in one. All on cell phones the whole time. 4 in another. All on phones not talking to each other as they walk. Walk past tea house. 13 of 16 adults on phones. Many ignoring kids trying to get their attention. What the **** is wrong with people?

Yes, but it isn't entirely the fault of the cellphone, in my opinion. I too see it everywhere; the people walking in the store, or down the street, glued to their phone screen, the family sitting in the restaurant with forks in one hand and phones in the other, and, most infuriating, the people who can't put their phone down to drive. As a teenager myself, I can hardly stand to be around most people my age, for other reasons including the obsession with cellphones (and, though this obsession does occur in other age-brackets, it seems most prevalent in the younger age-brackets). Thankfully, I go to a school where there is a significant number of students who manage to live life without staring into a phone screen 95% of the time, and who are also capable of having an intelligent conversation about subjects that are actually interesting.

I do not think it is entirely the fault of the cell-phone, however, I do think it contributes greatly. It seems, to me, to be more the fault of social-media. Social-media has, in many ways, supplanted texting as the chief use of cell-phones amongst young people, and might be fast on its way to becoming the chief method of conversation and interaction. At least, that's how it seems to me; I can't be bothered right now to actually search out any statistics on that right now. If you have any statistics on that, please, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[radcen]

Not interacting with people is positive for our youth? Alright then. They interrupt more. Dont wait their turn. Cant spell (this is actually a huge issue now). Pavlovian obsession with them which is unhealthy.

Spelling is bad for their self-esteem.

Seriously. I read that once several years ago.

 

[Gaius46]

I assume most of these people are interacting with others on their phone aren't they? Given that no phone are ruining social skills, they've just expanded the definition of social interactions.

 

[radcen]

Are cell phones going to ruin social skills? I am a high school teacher so I understand the problem. But it is getting worse and worse. Went to a park with my kids. Groups of teenagers walking around. Great. In a park. Good for them. Problem. 7 kids in one. All on cell phones the whole time. 4 in another. All on phones not talking to each other as they walk. Walk past tea house. 13 of 16 adults on phones. Many ignoring kids trying to get their attention. What the **** is wrong with people?

Several years ago we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and this one family stuck out at me. The parents were roughly mid-30s. Two kids, boy approx 10 and girl, approx 12. All were well-dressed. All four had their faces buried in a book the entire time. Not a phone, books. All of them. Intently.

In the waiting area they had their faces buried in a book. At their table they had their faces buried in a book. When eating they were still reading. Except to order I don't think they spoke a dozen words to each other.

Is that any better?

 

[Bodi]

Spelling is bad for their self-esteem.

Seriously. I read that once several years ago.

It can be tough because school laptops wont work so kids literally need to use their phone. The ones i trust can and that is about five per class, it seems. The rest get what I print for them and they hate it. Reading from phone? Fine. Reading print-outs? A horrible burden. It is psychological.

I also confiscate phones from those texting.