That game kids are playing and is bad for their minds

[GMMichael]

I think it has more to do with which parts of the brain develop and how they develop. Critical thinking and problem-solving makes different connections in the brain than taking in a constant stream of information and reacting to it instantly. I'm not making a value judgement. The latter may be more useful in the world we're living in and going towards.

I'll make the value judgment. Short-burst thinking is wrong.

I do think there's an overreaction on the use of social media. I reckon the vast majority of kids function just fine. And if they overuse social media then it's our failing for not providing them with something that's more interesting than facebooking constantly.

I see you've never been to Arizona. The reason Facebook and Twitter are so popular is exactly because they're so interesting. "Our" fault is not providing something useful for kids.

Ain't that how schools have been working since... a very long time?

This point makes itself.

 

[Kramodlog]

This point makes itself.

Yeah, cause our societies are totally loserish.

 

[Joker]

Ain't that how schools have been working since... a very long time?

Not all schools. It's just that in many places we don't allocate the resources needed to facilitate 12 student classrooms with highly trained teachers and excellent support systems.

DMMike, I don't want to make a value statement because I don't know how societies where this behavior is prevalent will develop in the near future.

 

[Kramodlog]

Not all schools. It's just that in many places we don't allocate the resources needed to facilitate 12 student classrooms with highly trained teachers and excellent support systems.

It has been the general standard for quite some time and society hasn't degenerated into chaos and ignorance. It is quite the opposite actually. Crimes are rather low and people have never been so educated in human history (I am talking about
Western cultures here).

 

[Janx]

It has been the general standard for quite some time and society hasn't degenerated into chaos and ignorance. It is quite the opposite actually. Crimes are rather low and people have never been so educated in human history (I am talking about
Western cultures here).

I agree.

Based on how I grew up with probably 16-20 kids in a classroom in a small town (2 class rooms per grade, and Apple IIe's in a lab that you got to see once a week), and I turned out educationally and technologically awesome, i am always wary of folks wanting to deviate from that pattern.

Given that much of the cool stuff that exists RIGHT now was invented by people who went to school using the "old ways" any current problems in education are likely due to other factors (like criminal children dominating the classroom or oversized classrooms). I highly doubt the teaching industry is heavily staffed by people who chose to make less money while they flounder at educating 25+ kids in a trailer classroom because they suck and don't care about educating kids.

 

[Janx]

I'll make the value judgment. Short-burst thinking is wrong.

I don't have any links, but I been seeing rumblings that touchscreen interfaces being handed to babies is altering their growing brains, because they aren't learning to handle physical objects as well.

I suspect there's developmental impact on kids with instant feedback/gratification technology isn't helping kids work on long term stuff. Kind of like all the fast paced spongebob cartoons and the MTV fast cam shots are altering kids attention spans.

In the workplace, there's already articles about how hiring young people is not the same as it used to be. They want more constant feedback, they expect raises/promotions more often, and they don't stick around long.

Ideally, if this stuff is messing with our kids ability to be successful, then I'm hoping that it raises my market value as I age, because "only the old guys know how to get stuff done"

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

In the workplace, there's already articles about how hiring young people is not the same as it used to be. They want more constant feedback,

That isn't necessarily a bad thing.

they expect raises/promotions more often, and they don't stick around long.

I suspect a lot of people expect raises and promotions more often, and if they had better choices for work, would probably leave a company earlier as well if they didn't get the raises and promotions.