Last week I was making the point that social media and technology is not only making us fat, rude and inconsiderate it is also making us stupid and lazy as well. The point I am making is that it has its place but shouldn’t be relied upon. The convenience of technology is not just weakening our bodies physically but also the development of our mental abilities.
Kids should climb trees, it develops their muscular growth. Kids need to write by hand, it develops their motor skills, sensory skills and memory. Last week I made my point by providing scientific evidence. This week I am going to give you an example of why I don’t believe technology should be relied upon from my own personal experience. We develop our beliefs and opinions based on our own personal experiences.
I don’t want to become reliant on technology because one day we might not have it anymore. This may seem inconceivable, but I was in New York in 2003 and experienced the blackout. The Northeast Blackout of 2003 (Sorry i don’t usually rely on Wikipedia but it had a greater overview of info) was the second most widespread power outage in history. It affected Ontario and 8 U.S states, a total of about 55 million people. According to reports, 508 generating units at 265 power plants shut down during the outage.
I was working at a summer camp in upstate New York. I watched as the Americans, that had been directly affected by the 9/11 attacks, panic and hide in the bunk houses. We Australians had a different way of thinking. We banded together, had a chat and found out whose parents would be awake at 6am Aus time and would be watching the news. That person was then nominated to call home. “Hi mum. I’m ok. I don’t want to worry you but could you turn on the news and let me know what’s going on?”
That year everyone was talking about their experience. I later went to live with two older ladies in Toronto. They told me about a street party they had, that they hadn’t seen for a while. They met neighbours for the first time in 20 years. People were in their front yards barbequing. Kids played soccer or hockey in the street. There was music as people had gone to their basements or attics and fished out portable record players. The ladies told me it was like an average weekend 30 years ago.
There were people in NYC who saw the stars for the first time in their lives. There were roof parties and the parks were packed. There was a sense of community, and a ‘help thy neighbour’ attitude. And that is what I think technology and social media is taking away from us. I am resisting the change in attitude not change in general. I am resisting the reliance on technology. I am personally trying to preserve my basic communication skills, handwriting, and the art of face to face conversation, manners and etiquette.
I’m not saying I think the world will end and we won’t know what to do. I’m not saying I believe the Hollywood hype and the apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fictional worlds that have been created for our entertainment in mediums of not only film and television but novels and computer games. But fiction is based on some elements of fact, and I don’t want to rule out the possibilities. I’m not saying it will happen I’m saying it can. Our reliance on technology and fossil fuels will be our undoing.
And if it does happen, we will need to rely more on each other, and our local communities, as I’m sure the ‘global community’ won’t be much help. It is not only for this reason I think it is unacceptable to be indifferent to your fellow man, but it is generally unacceptable. I admire the Amish and Communism. I admire their preserved sense of community, and the importance of family, the idea of common ownership and the collective. I am not that idealistic that I don’t realise that humans are generally selfish, but I still think it’s a nice idea in theory. I am also not saying I admire the human right abuses or the religious aspects of either.
I don’t expect you to agree with me, that is not my point. I just ask that you consider the affect social media and technology is having on yourself, your lifestyle and your ideals. If you strongly disagree with any of what I have written I would be interested in your experiences and your reasons why. Please leave a comment below.
Oh I totally agree wit you that kids should climb trees and that writing by hand develops neural pathways, and research is certainly on your side. I think New York must be different to Tassie though… we have street parties and neighborhood cricket games here in Howrah, and the sense of community is palpable.
As a mum who works from home, I don’t get out of the house much, and my opportunities to talk to other grown ups is limited. Facebook is my savior. Forums are life saving at times. Even the Hobart Mums Network ( a Facebook group) is amazingly helpful and supportive.
So while I totally agree with your sentiment, for people in my situation, technology has provided me with the most wonderful community of like minded people and I am very pleased I am not sitting at home looking after 5 kids wishing someone would write me a letter or ring me up!
Thanks for your comment and sharing your experience and opinions.
Im am very envious of your experience during the black out, infact my personal oppinion of the youthful generation and their addiction to technology scares me. The very fact that my 3 year old can fully operate a plasma television and computer gaming console is proof that our society is too reliant on electricity.
But since commiting to the country lifestyle I have learned 2 things… Community cares, kids matter. My community is large in comparison to some but it doesnt take a natural or man made disaster to know how important the citizens of this town are. It is prevalent in the intollerance of anti social behaviour, the sometimes painfull conversations in every isle of the supermarket and the very fact that I can let my children walk unsupervised to school. I can also allow them to jump on their motorbikes and head up the bush behind our property and this has all become available due to neighbourly compassion. I know the names of everyone on my street and they mine.
Im not saying that social media doesnt take up alot of my communicatable skills ( I am friends with half the town on my professional profile) however I know each and every one of these people and I quiet often stop in the street for a chat.
My point is that by making that effort I have made my life much more accessible and I like to think that verbally I communicate exceptionally well, however text based communication I feel I am not as strong at. I only wish that my children were able to share the same skill.
At grade 7 they are given a tablet and expected to rmail in assignments and predominatly their school work will be technology based including the required trxts via e books. How discuisting that our children will loose their ability to provide beautiful handwritten assignments with carefully ruled margins. How awful that they will use spell check instead of a dictionary or theasaurus. How terrible that the next generation will not grow a sense of love for the smells of a well used book.
I guess for now I can smile knowing that when my children go silent they are either up a tree, in the bush or playing a board game… Unless its friday night.
Thanks for your comment. It is sad that by the time kids get to grade 7 everything becomes computerised. If a person wants their child to still have other skills it’s up to them to teach them, this puts alot more pressure on parents and says alot for the state of of education system and what is viewed as a priority. But that’s just my opinion.
Not sure if my other comment got lost, it just disappeared, so will summarise again! Firstly, partly agree with you, and you certainly have research on your side in terms of the benefits of handwriting, tree climbing etc.
BUT, I love the communities I am part of on the Internet. I work from home, caring for up to 5 kids everyday. I have extremely limited opportunities for talking to other grown ups. It is a wonderful, but extremely isolating job. Facebook is my savior. Forums are life saving. The Hobart mums network is so helpful and supportive. I am so, so pleased I am part of communities on the Internet, and that I am not sitting at home, with the kids, waiting for a letter or a phone call from a friend.
(And New York probably suffers from big city syndrome, because I have found most suburbs I have lived in Hobart have a great sense of community. We have street parties etc here in good old Howrah!)
Anyway, hurrah for social media, it has saved my life!
Thanks again. I moderate all of my comments so that is probably why you thought your first comment disapeared. But i’m glad you felt strongly enough to comment again. I think a community is what you make it. Most people have a mixture of on-line communities, neighbourhood communities and a personal community of family and friends. The ladies i stayed with in Toronto were in a surburban part well away from the city. I think a person has to want to be apart of a community and it doesn’t matter where they live. I had a great experience in Sandy Bay, as well as in Melbourne, as well as in a out of the way hamlet in England. If you seek, you shall find.