That computer e-mail, communication, forums etc., cell phones, blackberries, video games etc. retards people socially in the area of human to human interaction/contact ?


This is not a question meant to criticize technology, but a place to consider social trends in how people interact and communicate with each other with respect to the relatively new ways technology allows us to do so.


It might be interesting to think about what and where you see it leading to.


If anywhere. Positives, negatives ....what do you think ?

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Something wicked this way comes.

No I do not think so.

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"Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze."
Gospel of Thomas

Why not ?


Societies go through changes (good, bad or neutral) of many kinds for many reasons. You think the net effect will be no change at all ? You don't think that some people might be prone to becoming a bit socially retarded if they spend much of their lives in a virtual, electronic realm interacting with gadgetry rather than real people ?


What about information accesibility ? What might you think the effects of a lot of the information it takes to be a Dr. (many kinds of Drs.) being available to anyone with the know how to effectively use search engines and apply and absorb the information ?


Just some interesting things to think about maybe ? I don't think there will be NO changes caused by these facts, but I'm not sure I could confidently say whether or not the net effect will be positive or negative. Maybe, as in many things, they will balance out to no net effect. Things will change though.

I guess I think the net effect will be neutral though there will be some pretty big negatives that will be balanced out by some pretty big positives. So I guess I agree with you.

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Something wicked this way comes.

Where I worked we had an informal structure from the most to the least powerful. That structure did not mirror the formal structure of the organization. The informal structure was dominated by those who performed well in meetings and well in face-to-face discussions. Those at the bottom of the structure, the least powerful and influential, did not perform well in those venues. They weren't stupid at all but they weren't quick and perhaps not as assertive in meetings.

Then we got email for the organization. An organization dispersed by either geography or schedule can benefit significantly from email. We were disbursed by working 24/7. As the months passed, I noticed some people who had been low in the informal structure moved up. While they didn't perform well in meetings or face-to-face discussions they contributed to discussions via email without the confrontation and without the necessity to respond instantly. Their ideas were thoughtful and valuable and their ranking moved up.

After a year or so those at the top were the ones that excelled at both personal discussions and email but some moved up to the middle based on really their email participation.

So, I suppose those who are not particularly skilled at social interaction can benefit from the plethora of electronic medias now but those who are skilled at social interaction don't retard. IMHO, if you're raising children it's important to encourage both.

I don't have the links handy, but I know there have been studies on this that show the answer is, to some degree, yes; the theory was that it had something to do with the fact that you're never actually 'stuck' with someone who irritates you, so your threshhold for irritation is lower. Temper tantrums and such were the result.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVFdAJRVm94

No. No more than the written letter, the telegraph or the telephone.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

I believe to properly answer the question you need o have lived prior to all of the technology.
Cell phones have increased communication between people.
Likewise with email.
What these two have dramatically changed is time. These devices have significantly sped up time in business specifically, and that has increased stresses as you have less time to get things done.
And the constant availability is, at times, maddening.

Video games however is a different story. People cocooning themselves, by themselves, in a room for hours at a time on a daily basis - there is no doubt that significantly alters human interaction skills.

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November 2010...A change we can believe in.

A person who is willing to lock themselves in a room for hours on end probably didn't have good social skills to begin with. If you want an example check out The Guild by Felicia Day. While meant as a comedy, it is actually an excellent social commentary.

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The way I see my kids using these technologies they seem like an extension of their face to face social lives - not a substitute. I think people who oare highly social in person extend that social network through technology and I think people who are anti social will use technology to avoid social interaction. These days peoplle move alot more than they have in other times. That can lead to loss of relationships and loss of community.mBut my oldest sons routinely commnicate online with people they knew in grade school despite the fact that they are now in college or have graduated and they are all moving every couple years for school or job. So the technology actually preserves social and ocmmunity ties. I guess the big difference is that community no longer means where you might be located right now but what a group of people has in common beyond current location.

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A nation of slaves is always prepared to applaud the clemency of their master, who, in the abuse of absolute power, does not proceed to the last extremes of injustice and oppression.
Edward Gibbon

I think technology retards people.

People do dumb shit just for a Youtube video and some even die doing these dumb things.

Also, people have quick access to extremist ideas and propaganda as well which definitely breeds wacky ideas that gain momentum.

The internet is a dangerous tool.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis



[/b]the left is always wrong[b[



http://www.myspace.com/swoop187muzic

No, they are a set of tools that allow people to extend their capacity to communicate with others. As an example: I met my wife via an online dating service , turned out we had a number of friends in common and friends of friends but had somehow never met until we met online, so email, forums etc.. have certainly improved my human to human interaction.

Without the wonderful internet I would have never gotten to know the people I know now. Over the years I've met quite a few people online which I absolutely consider friends. The internet gives me the possibility to communicate with people from all over the world without financially ruining me. I use Skype a lot and talk to friends from all over the world. It helps me understand other people way better.

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Cowgirls 3 : Vikes 34

My heart is bleeding purple.

The internet does a lot of things; some good, some bad.

The good: Instant communication. I can communicate with someone on the other side of the planet in a flash. While this capability isn't always necessary, it's nice to know it's there when it's need.

The bad: I know people, primarily younger people, who would be completely lost if they were asked to find a book in a library. "Dewey Decimal" means nothing to them.

Just an example.

As far as social interaction, I actually think it can be a positive thing.

I'm a member of several internet forums (watches, cameras, Harleys among them). Several of these forums have regular get togethers (one photo group meets once a month). So, you learn about the group on the internet, participate with and get to know, to the extent possible on the internet, other people, and then you go out and meet them. I don't see that as a bad thing. Some people I've met from internet forums have become some of my best friends.

The reason I say it can be a positive thing is that I don't believe it can ever be a substitution for developing one-on-one social skills. Not everyone you'll meet is someone you'll meet on the internet. You need to have those social skills that enable you to interact with people.

Case in point: Earlier this year, I was in Edmonton on business. Andrew, one of our resident libs, lives in Edmonton. We arranged to have a few beers together. Once we walked through the door to the bar, anything regarding the way we interacted on the internet was gone. We were right there, and we needed to be able to converse in a manner that the internet had nothing to do with. We were able to do that, and I think we both enjoyed spillin' a few ales that afternoon.

However, relying solely on the internet to develop and hone social skills (which I think many people do) is, I think, a bad thing...

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For those who have fought to defend it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know...



If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all...

Really?

Dude Marries Virtual Girlfriend

I think, though, that this is probably an extreme example of someone who spends too much time on the internet...

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For those who have fought to defend it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know...



If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all...

Very well said, I can find nothing to disagree with here. I think you offer a very good example of the +'s and -'s of this new age of communication technology.

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Something wicked this way comes.