Practicing Alternative Dispute Resolution Finding humor in the daily Stuff; Occasionally waxing poetic and philosophical; Preserving a history for my family
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Interesting Point:
" We have given teens more money, so they can construct their own social and material worlds more easily. We have given them more time to spend among themselves-- and less time in the company of adults. We have given them e-mail and beepers and, most of all, cellular phones so that they can fill in all the dead spots in their day -- dead spots that might once have been filled with the voices of adults -- with the voices of their peers. That is a world ruled by the logic of word of mouth, by the contagious messages that teens pass among themselves." And, might I add, less comment moderation, so to speak. Fewer reality checks, fewer moments of loving , thoughtful interaction with parents. This quote comes from Malcolm Gladwell in his book The Tipping Point.
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4 comments:
Not that I have a teen, but I agree. Two summers ago we had a nanny when Roman was sick, she spent the majority of her time either talking on the phone or texting. We were paying her to do all this when she was suppose to be watching our children. It was really frustrating. Then when as a way to say thanks for helping us we took her on a two week vacation with us and she was texting the whole time. My husband finally told me I had to say something or he was going to take her to the airport. The trip was to NYC. You would have thought she would have thought that was cool given she had never been outside Utah. I refuse to get my children any of those gadgets until they are driving or riding in cars with those who do drive.
What a great quote, Gail! I'm so embarrassed that I own that book and didn't recognize where it came from until I read your annotation. Working in a high school with 2400 teens has really opened my eyes to their realties. Let me tell you, an adult perspective is an excellent lifeboat to counterbalance the frothing sea of adolescent angst. Each year by May, I grow to loathe cell phones. Not my own, but THEIRS. Unhook yourself from your codependent digital addiction! Oh well, we all made it through our teen years. :o)
I have to add--I quoted your blog last Sunday during our joint RS/EQ meeting (re: Elder Bednar's talk about online addictions)! Thanks!
This makes me want to read "The Tipping Point."
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