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Facebook, Twitter: leading to shortened attention spans and self-centered children. — Page 2

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#26

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 11:48am

Good or bad, it's happening and there is nothing that can stop it.

Business will have to adapt to the shorter attention spans and cater to them.
Society will find an organic way to evolve and integrate these trends/tendencies until they become the status quo.

And of course by that time there will be new technology emerging that will be criticized for its effects on the next generation.

this sort of cycle has been happening in one way or another since the industrial revolution (and probably before).




....but the world goes 'round
#28

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 11:50am

Phyllis ---- Absolutely, there's irony there. No question. And no offense taken either!

This isn't about chat boards or cyber-communications being bad, and if you understand what I'm saying, it's the ABUSE of them that's bad.

The Internet is an incredible invention that is changing our lives almost on a daily basis.

But use it, definitely, as a "means" to connect people, not an "end." That's my point.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22

Updated On: 2/25/09 at 11:50 AM

#30

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 11:53am

There's plenty worth paying attention to, Q.

Part of the "skill" that's being lost today is the ability to recognize that.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#33

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 12:00pm

yeah, again we find a way to shift responsibility away from parents and onto something else for the way their chidrens' behavior.

evil twitter. evil facebook. evil everything but the people whose responsibility it is to raise children. no, not the nannies.

how dare you expect parents to actually take an active role in their children's lives and teach them rather than handing them the newest gadgets and shuffling them off so they can do whatever it is that they do when they ought to be paying attention to those who they brought into this world. i hope that someone starts up a class-action lawsuit on behalf of parents whose children were poisoned by the evil technology!
r.i.p. marco, my guardian angel.

...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty

pray to st. jude

i'm a sonic reducer

he was the gimmicky sort

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#35

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 12:09pm

They're not just handing them the newest gadgets, papa. They're "playing" with them themselves.

And ... What are you doing on BWW, papa? Don't you have a kid to raise?

Let's not blame all the minors for crimes the adults are also committing.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#36

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 12:12pm

Besty - as I PMd you earlier.. I agree with you but will add to the public conversation that while the older generation SHOULD know better because we weren't raised on the technologies in question - one can only wonder about those who are born unto it and where they will be in 20-30 years from now in comparison.
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men" - Willy Wonka
#40

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 12:29pm

PRS - That wasn't directed at you personally - just so you know. I was just saying in the generic sense that I'm not sure being "online" 24/7 is a good thing. And by "online" I mean being so available, etc.

Almost a chicken and egg thing - but digress with me for a moment

When I was younger and made plans, I did it on the home phone. If I had multiple plans they would be carefully coordinated time/location wise. If I was late (a rarity for me) there was little I could do to let the other person know which may (just thinking out loud here) have motivated me more NOT to be late or whatnot.

These days, with cell phones (which I don't find evil) it's very easy to keep in constant contact with people so that schedules can be adjusted in 'real time'.

While this is convenient - one can't help but take a step back and wonder if it's a good thing or bad thing. On one hand - it's nice to let someone know if you're running late. But does having that ability make it more acceptable or even increase the likelihood you'll be late or care less about it because you can make that call? If you couldn't make the call - would you be more likely to be on time?

Just posing
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men" - Willy Wonka
#41

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 12:50pm

Oh, I know it wasn't personal. No worries.

These days, with cell phones (which I don't find evil) it's very easy to keep in constant contact with people so that schedules can be adjusted in 'real time'.

I'm the first to admit that I don't really understand Twitter, but isn't the point of it to update those who are following you in real time? As more people start carrying blackberries and iphones, etc, the technology might become more useful.

While this is convenient - one can't help but take a step back and wonder if it's a good thing or bad thing. On one hand - it's nice to let someone know if you're running late. But does having that ability make it more acceptable or even increase the likelihood you'll be late or care less about it because you can make that call? If you couldn't make the call - would you be more likely to be on time?

That's actually a really good question. My guess - and it's only a guess with no real data to back it up - is that it wouldn't make a difference in most cases. People who chronically run late are going to run late no matter what, because they feel their time is more important than those who are waiting for them. People who make an effort to be on time are generally going to be on time, regardless of whether or not they have the technology to alert the people waiting.

Updated On: 2/25/09 at 12:50 PM

#42

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 12:55pm

I'll counter/add that the considerate people will make every effort as they normally would and if there is an unavoidable delay, they'll make use of the technolgy to alert the person who might be waiting. Those "temporally dysfunctional" i.e. always late anyway will a) not call anyway as it's already not in their nature to concern themselves with the schedule or b) use the excuse they CAN call to justify their lateness or care even less about being on time making them the same lateness or perhaps even later...
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men" - Willy Wonka
#45

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 1:15pm

This thread is seriously making me well, laugh because of Joe, and also evaluate what the hell i've been doing with my time. I'm definitely addicted to the internet, and it's definitely a problem. I've pretty much known that for a while, but...agh, time to rehabilitate.

Updated On: 2/25/09 at 01:15 PM

#46

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 3:05pm

Yeah, I'm an internet addict (no kiddin'...). Despite the fact that I'm not allowed to have a facebook/myspace/livejournal/any of those things or a cell phone/blackberry/whatever people text with, I still find a way to waste my life online.

But I agree that new technology is always going to shorten people's attention spans, and trying to keep kids away from technology isn't going to help. And it won't make them more socially adept than their friends, since they'll be the only ones who don't have facebooks or whatever. I've missed so many events and announcements because I'm literally the only person I know who doesn't have a facebook, so most of the activities I've been involved in send out messages on facebook rather than email. Even my dad has a facebook.
In my pants, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun! --Marius Pantsmercy
#47

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/25/09 at 5:03pm

So, wait ... your DAD has a Facebook account, but you can't have one?

That's like my great-grandmother who used to tell my mom as a child, "Don't you ever drink or smoke!"

She was standing with her cigarette in one hand and her glass of sherry in the other, at the time.

And this is what I mean by adults blaming the younger generation for messing up their lives by doing something the adults are already doing themselves.

It's pretty mind-boggling how totally self-aware and yet unaware my own generation can be sometimes.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#49

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/26/09 at 1:37am

I'm reminded of a long thread on the Blu-ray forum that started when 2001 - A Space Odyssey first came out on blu-ray. There were exceptions, but generally those too young to have seen the film in a movie theatre thought it was way too slow and so boring. The older folks loved it. Ironically the film was, among other things, about technology in the 21st century!

I saw a revival of 2001 at a film festival in Madrid, having an interest in films of the 60's and 70's I was not a fair representation of the groups involved in the discussion. Some other younger people were impressed by the level of sophistication of the special effects, all done non-digitally.

Generally, films of that era do have a slower pace. I doubt if today's audiences would like The Saragossa Manuscript or The Travelling Players either (two very popular films for their time and place).

To answer Besty, I can't help but think that high speed information technology will have an impact on those who are born and raised with it, which will influence their methods of study, concentration, socialization, etc. The telegraph was once the cutting-edge high speed information technology. Look how the world has changed since then. facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah
#50

facebook, twitter, something something...blah, blah, blah

Posted: 2/26/09 at 5:49am

Movies were paced more slowly back then, as were the trailers. Some trailers were at least 3 minutes long and had long cuts with little music. Now trailers are much shorter and have explosions even if the movie is a chick flick. :)

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