Kids and Social Networking Skills

I felt the need to write about this topic because its something that I have spoken about in the past week.  I came upon an article today in a magazine given to me by my mom. In the August issue of Family Circle, there is an article titled Virtual Reality in which the author, Dan Tynan, talks about kids and the disconnect with them and other family members. He asks a question, "Are we digitally distracted?" I agree with him that yes we are. He speaks about this topic with alot of first hand knowledge because he and his wife are both technology journalists. He states in the article that according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans between 8 and 18 consume media nearly 8 hours a day. The article also states that the time families spend together has dropped from 26 hours a week to under 18. He feels that technology is putting a wedge between people, and that what concerns him is the fact that people are consumed by it. There is a passage in the article which I had stated in a blog last week, so its alittle interesting that I would be reading exactly what I was thinking last week. He writes., "Apparently Generation Text spends so much time typing and tapping they may have difficulty understanding body language, resolving conflicts or feeling compassion for their real-life, flesh and blood companions." The internet provides many kids with the ability to act out a role behind the computer. Microsoft Reasercher, Danah Boyd refers to this as "identity performance", in which kids try on a virtual personality in an arena like Facebook where the fear of any social awkwardness vanishes. For introverted children that may be a good thing. But, there still exists a problem amongst teenagers who are all too consumed with FB, or texting, to fully understand that a real world does exist outside of their cell phone and computer. There is a huge problem when kids look at FB as a way of playing a part. They may not necessarily have to be themselves online because there is no one there to critique them. Unfortunately, this makes alot of sense. But ,it gives kids a false sense of security that these FB friends are really their friends, when in reality, these type of friends are not their for the long haul. The biggest problem that I have with social networking and how many kids abuse the priviledge, is the fact that because they'd rather text, verbal communication has now taken a back seat to texting. This is bad on so many levels, because I see alot of kids constantly texting. In fact, two kids were sitting next to each other, texting one another. "Texting and tweeting instead of talking not only leads to conversations filled with dramatic hyperbole, creative spelling and LOL's, it can also create a generation of conversational illiterates who struggle to read body language, resolve conflicts or deal with difficult emotions, warns Van Petten." She is the founder of a teen-driven advice site called Radical Parenting. It also warns that technology may be playing a role with people's capacity to feel grief. In a study conducted by the University of Michigan, it says that 40% of college students today are less empathetic than students 30 years ago. Researchers partially blame social media for this decline, because lets face facts, you can't learn how to be empathetic attached to your computer screen. Educational psychologist Michael Borba, has stated that " technology can rob us of face-to-face interactions." While some will argue that social media in the professional realm is a thing that is ever present and will only continue to grow, it still must be looked at as a reall issue with kids. While texting may not be viewed as a form of verbal communication, it is however a form of communication that is widely used and will be used in the professional world. Technology for all of the negatives, does have many positives. More and more people are able to communicate with people all over the world. Relatives and friends can now stay in touch more. Skype is a great tool for talking to people in far off places. Granted, I  may not like the fact that kids, especially the younger adolescent group, can become all too engrossed in their technology, but I would like to see parents curtail the texting, especially during family time. I just don't want to see kids grow up and one day realize that they don't know how to hold a real conversation for more than 10 minutes. I would also like to see people becoming less disconnected, because it creates an environment where people are self absorbed in technology and less connected with the outside real world. Read the entire article, its really eye opening   .http://www.familycircle.com/family-fun/technology/connecting-with-your-kids/

Karen

Works Cited: http://www.familycircle.com/family-fun/technology/connecting-with-your-kids/
Dan Tynan.