Children becoming 'addicted' to computers

[Nicodeamus]

This is total BS, my grandfather is 85 years old and he bought himself a smartphone and taught himself to use a PC when it came out. Either move with the times or grow old living an outdated live.

 

[koeksGHT]

Smart phone actually just makes life easier.. Takes some stress away. And I am using a blackberry otherwise I would be spending thousands in phone bills for messaging and internet.

 

[hungrybeaver]

Look at all the tech addicts getting defensive!

*runs*

/jk


While we should allow kids access to smartphones/PCs, their usage and time spent on the device should be monitored while they are still young. It's the "instant gratification" feeling of smartphones/tablets that gets me. I can see a lot of people (its already happening) using Google for quick answers when they could first try to find it with their own initiative, and then going to Google once they're stuck. Think of it as an early beginning to life in the film Idiocracy. Why think for yourself when the answer is a few taps away?

 

[Positively Negative]

Not just kids, adults too.

I been to a few braais over the festive season, and the everybody cant go 30 mins without pulling out their phones to check mail, IM's etc.

Clear sign of the times!

BB-FKCING-M - The death of social interaction!
I have bbm myself and love the fact I can stay in touch with close friends and organise events etc. But I do not rudely pull out my phone and ignore everyone around me, which seems to be the trend these days

I think everyone is generally addicted to pc's and internet in some way or another. Take my dad for example, he used to babble on how silly they are everyday. Now all I do is find him on facebook,checking email,news sites and forums.

 

[sand_man]

+1

I was at the Traffic Dept the other day and had to redo a damn form three times because I couldn't even write properly in the blocks. In the end I called my wife (who was sitting in the car) to come fill in the bloody thing

I can relate!! I too have lost the ability to write!!!!!!!!

You should have seen how calligraphy took a dive when people upgraded from feathers to pen... its a sad world

Progress on the one hand, regression on the other...

Not just kids, adults too.

I been to a few braais over the festive season, and the everybody cant go 30 mins without pulling out their phones to check mail, IM's etc.

Clear sign of the times!

Guilty as charged!!!!!!

The generation gap: Young people have taken to technology like fish to water, older people are envious and feel left out and are now looking for reasons to make themselves feel better.

Dear Grandpa I respect your excellent language and spelling abilities, I respect your experience and your contributions to modern society, please respect my ability to multi-task, respect my freedom to use language in any way that pleases me, and respect the fact that we are not addicted to computers, but that computers are a major tool not only for scientific purpose, or for global communications and media, but also for personal entertainment and access to the greatest library ever in existence.

This is not an addiction sir, it is a new way of living, and welcome to 2012.

Sums it up nicely!!!!

This is total BS, my grandfather is 85 years old and he bought himself a smartphone and taught himself to use a PC when it came out. Either move with the times or grow old living an outdated live.

Agreed, technology cannot be avoided... and why should it?? Consider the benefit of a 85 year old man being able to conduct all his day to day business and banking from the comfort of his desk....??

 

[AfricanTech]

+1

I was at the Traffic Dept the other day and had to redo a damn form three times because I couldn't even write properly in the blocks. In the end I called my wife (who was sitting in the car) to come fill in the bloody thing

The real question is why oh why is the form not electronic

 

[Vrotappel]

Mr Lenon, the former headmaster of Harrow School, also called for the greater use of multiple choice questions in exams, saying they were an effective method of covering more of the syllabus and less susceptible to marking errors.

BS. People that don't have the ability to use a language can pass a multiple choice exam. Secondly is this an admission that teachers don't have the ability to mark written answers?

 

[Nicodeamus]

Look at all the tech addicts getting defensive!

*runs*

/jk


While we should allow kids access to smartphones/PCs, their usage and time spent on the device should be monitored while they are still young. It's the "instant gratification" feeling of smartphones/tablets that gets me. I can see a lot of people (its already happening) using Google for quick answers when they could first try to find it with their own initiative, and then going to Google once they're stuck. Think of it as an early beginning to life in the film Idiocracy. Why think for yourself when the answer is a few taps away?

Why use a calculator when I can solve differential equations with a pen and paper? To save time quite frankly.

 

[SLAQ]

I agree, technology cannot be avoided. Yet, I cannot accept it that people FB, IM or play games on their smart phones when in the company of friends. It is insulting to others.

Handwriting is a pain, but should still be taught and practiced at school. It is actually a crucial skill that stimulates brain growth in children. But once you are done with school GTFO pen!

 

[Nicodeamus]

I agree, technology cannot be avoided. Yet, I cannot accept it that people FB, IM or play games on their smart phones when in the company of friends. It is insulting to others.

Handwriting is a pain, but should still be taught and practiced at school. It is actually a crucial skill that stimulates brain growth in children. But once you are done with school GTFO pen!

You know as a left handed person I was taught wrong at school as a result my handwriting is almost unreadable, the only stimulation my handwriting gave me was trying to decipher my class notes.

 

[noxibox]

That way once they are finished school they can become Lumberjacks, Farmers, Janitors and Tradesmen. Why not let them learn how to use a computer since they more than likely are going to need to.

To be fair he didn't say they shouldn't use computers. However we managed to learn the basics of using computers quite easily despite never having access to one during our school years. And the basics is all almost everyone needs to be able to do work with a computer.

As for smart phones I see no reason most children would need one. If they have a mobile at all the most basic model available should generally be more than adequate.

 

[noxibox]

Something that is taught wrong at school is reading. They use reading aloud to make sure children are actually able to read, but never transition that to more advanced reading techniques.

Secondly is this an admission that teachers don't have the ability to mark written answers?

No, simply that marking them is more error-prone. And certainly a lot more time-consuming.

While we should allow kids access to smartphones/PCs, their usage and time spent on the device should be monitored while they are still young. It's the "instant gratification" feeling of smartphones/tablets that gets me. I can see a lot of people (its already happening) using Google for quick answers when they could first try to find it with their own initiative, and then going to Google once they're stuck. Think of it as an early beginning to life in the film Idiocracy. Why think for yourself when the answer is a few taps away?

Searching google is using your own initiative.

 

[binkybozo]

Look at all the tech addicts getting defensive!

*runs*

/jk


While we should allow kids access to smartphones/PCs, their usage and time spent on the device should be monitored while they are still young. It's the "instant gratification" feeling of smartphones/tablets that gets me. I can see a lot of people (its already happening) using Google for quick answers when they could first try to find it with their own initiative, and then going to Google once they're stuck. Think of it as an early beginning to life in the film Idiocracy. Why think for yourself when the answer is a few taps away?

+1

My S/O's brother is one of those that is very computer literate, has the smartphone etc but for the life of him can't think for himself. It is not just him either. I see a lot of his friends are like that as well. What scares me the most though is that they do a Google search and then just click on the first link that comes up and takes that information as what is correct.

 

[Nicodeamus]

+1

My S/O's brother is one of those that is very computer literate, has the smartphone etc but for the life of him can't think for himself. It is not just him either. I see a lot of his friends are like that as well. What scares me the most though is that they do a Google search and then just click on the first link that comes up and takes that information as what is correct.

Lost in irrelevance.

 

[hungrybeaver]

Searching google is using your own initiative.

 

[noxibox]

+1

My S/O's brother is one of those that is very computer literate, has the smartphone etc but for the life of him can't think for himself. It is not just him either. I see a lot of his friends are like that as well. What scares me the most though is that they do a Google search and then just click on the first link that comes up and takes that information as what is correct.

That hardly makes them different to any other generation. For example when looking something up in an encyclopaedia you will often find multiple results, and the articles will typically reference other material. You can simply stop at the first entry you find in the index. You can look in only one encyclopaedia. As another example go to a subject section in the library (for those of you who know what these are and have ever visited one). Quite often you'll find several books on a topic. You could read only one, perhaps the shortest.

What the internet and a good search engine do is bring a vast amount of information within easy reach. So instead of spending hours going through card catalogues and travelling from library to library looking for referenced material you can now get it all much more easily. It's the next step, and it's a truly good advancement.

The internet and search engines are not to blame for people's laziness.

Yeah, I'm sure people had a similar response to other bad things, like libraries, encyclopaedias, books and even teaching. All too easy.

Yes, it's completely silly for someone to go look something up. What a crazy idea.

 

[scotty777]

I will call rubbish because I grew up with computers. I remember having access to the internet when I was in grade 2. It's all about being able to have restraint, and also keeping an open mind. I think it's more important to maybe promote sport over computers, and teaching kids that you need a balanced life. Instead of oppressing and denying (something that never stopped me... If dragon ball-z was on tv, I'm watching that then studying ). However, learning to understand and learning to balance life, love and learning is a lesson that will impact and carry through a persons life.

I play a lot of pc games, and I still have lans with my mates. I play when I know I can afford it, and I work when I know I can't. I love learning though, it's awesome. I remember being glued to the Discovery Channel ever since it came to dstv (flip, 1997 ish?? ), and I was very young back then. I would like to think that it was more the idea that some of those tv shows answered and got my little brain thinking from an early age, and got me excited and into wondering how things work, things that my parents would not know how to answer.

Either way, I think that it's important to teach the meaning of "enough", rather than the meaning of restraint. Knowing that with hard work comes reward, and knowing that with hard work comes play is a much more important life lesson. Being told that you can only do something so much is meaningless because, what does that person know?

I also think this whole trip about kids not being allowed to be competitive is utter rubbish. I love competition. While I don't like losing (who does?), but in life there are winners and there are losers. If you aren't winning, then work harder at it, or find something else that floats your boat... Just having that kids run around the field or having them just do stuff is great and all, but it doesn't teach them the sweet sweet taste of reward.

It's much like playing a competitive fps game. At first you will suck at it, but you will get better the more you try and then winning is so much sweeter. So, teaching kids that they should take pride in their work, really do well, and then giving them the reward of a good mark (and a chocolate) because they worked well will go much further than them not being allowed to do stuff. Does anyone really listen to their parents when they are like 7 anyway? :wtf:?

 

[Nick333]

What does he think kid's are using computers for if not reading and communicating. His problem is they're not reading what he's used to or communicating in ways he's comfortble with.

Besides which, that children aren't reading has been the lament of educaters since the advent of TV.

The truth is people are always uncomfortable with change and things are changing at a faster pace now than we're even able to notice. The pace is only going to increase, and exponentially so. Todays generation have grown up with the ever increasing rate of new things and are the ones who are best equipped to keep up.

What does the dude in the article have to offer kids except outdated ways of gathering information and communicating? He certainly has no clue what skills todays kids will need in the future. Computers and the internet are the new paradigm and where the new tech and the skills to leverage them evolve and are learnt. If you want to be able to guide kids and try and keep them safe you'll need to try and keep up. Trying to slow them down is not doing them any favours.

 

[w1z4rd]

Honestly, I was looking at the headlines on the Telegraph.co.uk... and I have seen more honest reporting in the You Magazine. How Chris can trust it as a news source is beyond me. I suppose some people are happy with real journalism and others are happy with tabloid writers trying to make into HEAT magazine.

Ug.. Im reading an article on those similar black tip reef sharks breeding between the different populations... and the Telegraph runs the headline, "Could Climate Change create deadly, mutant sharks which kill us all?" (At this point I have a mental picture of Sharktopus invading our homes and eating everyone in their beds)... Also, they put a picture of a Great White shark in attack mode... wtf. However, one just has to see the recent articles from the sensationalist author to get an idea of how dishonest they are, " 365 Ways to Drive a Liberal Crazy, Welcome To Obamaland: I've Seen Your Future And It Doesn't Work, How To Be Right". Instantly you know the person is an idiot without two brain cells. Kinda covers the whole theme happening there at the Telegraph.

I also see that they cant control the spam on their website.... the comments are all mostly spammers punting their products. Lol. Such quality.