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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 7, 2023 9:11:35 GMT
I have a friends who have two teenage boys. Apparently after school they never go out and see friends, instead the socialise online and play games etc. This is the new norm which to me is mind blowing. Sometimes one of the boys is chatting to some lass and he goes to bed and the other lass watches him fall asleep via her mobile. I mean, you could say it's sorta cute but wtf lol. I mean, when we were young the second you finished your tea you'd be out seeing friends. That's just what you did. Day after day. What kind of adults are they going to grow up to be? I guess it's not a problem if they're into sports. I was out playing football mainly, but if they're not... They're not. One of 'em plays footy for the school on Saturday though. It's the levels of slothness. I was out playing football almost every day. Often for hours.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 7, 2023 10:33:56 GMT
I'm not sure of the statistics, but I'd bet that young lads - pre-teens - spend more time indoors now than they did 30, 40 years ago. Dougie's idea that you finished your tea and went straight out to play rings very true with me.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 7, 2023 11:15:42 GMT
They have to be. How often do you see kids playing in the street these days? Think about it...
Kids adjust of course. What is normal to them is "normal" to them but is it really normal? What's the consequences of this new paradigm? The predictable ones and the unintended ones.
I dunno but my friends are worried and are hoping that their kids social skills will "catch up" when they move into the real world a bit more.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 7, 2023 11:21:35 GMT
Their eldest is 15 and he's quite innocent, which is not necessarily a bad thing given the modern world but he seems quite different, as do his mates from the teenagers I can recall growing up. I mean at that age kids at school were drinking and playing around with girls.
I dunno.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 7, 2023 11:22:56 GMT
I do get a bit tired of this line about how kids are attached to their phones and that can only be damaging to their mental health. I know that many kids use their phones almost constantly to stay in touch with their friends, post photos, follow celebs on social media, etc. - but none of that is necessarily harmful. They also use those things to read articles, watch TV, do homework, and for various creative activities that are fun, and have a positive impact on their well-being.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 7, 2023 11:24:10 GMT
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 7, 2023 11:29:35 GMT
There are some positives. It does seem that kids are drinking less (a good thing), having less sex (less risk of teenage pregnancies, stds etc). They are not as hedonistic as my generation and given the health problems of Gen X then that's not a bad thing.
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Post by DarknessFish on Mar 7, 2023 13:13:31 GMT
As the father of a 15 year old lad, I think I can chip in a little here. He's never gone out playing with mates after school, partly because there are no other kids where we live, but partly because it just doesn't seem to happen much these days. Kids don't get the freedom we did when younger to bugger off out until bedtime, which is a bit weird given that they all have mobile phones. Instead, he's in his room, he'll have a chat going on PlayStation, have another group chat going on his phone. Lots of social shit going on, even when there's no voice chat there's WhatsApp group messaging going on
Weekends, he is out all day, probably since lockdown that's been the situation, either hanging around the park, town centre, cinema, or spending 2 hours in KFC nursing a lemonade. He's generally very confident in social situations, and pretty quick witted and funny with it. Most of his mates are confident too, much more than I was with adults at his age. Sure, they're all entitled selfish shits, but fundamentally they seem well adjusted and decent. I don't see much to worry about. TikTok is the most worrying social media tool, because it provides an endless stream of low-grade entertainment, that seems to be the app that captivates the most, it's never-ending, insidious and addictive. But on the whole, kids I know seem to be doing pretty well, and these aren't privileged kids by any means.
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Post by fearlessfreap on Mar 7, 2023 13:22:27 GMT
I've noticed that for the past 10 years at least, you don't see groups of kids playing in parks or their yards. I think this started even before iphones, but definitely before covid. If I saw a group of kids with lacrosse sticks throwing the ball around, I'd notice it, because it was so rare. You do see kids playing basketball in their driveways once in a while, but not like 10 years ago. My kids both play on school teams, and it's been that way at least since they started middle school (12 years old,) which was 4 years ago. That's how they get their exercise. My son is always talking to friends via youtube or other computer methods, but my daughter, who just got her drivers license, is always going out with her friends.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 7, 2023 13:23:44 GMT
Does she just drive around or sit in her car for hours? That's what my niece does.
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Post by fearlessfreap on Mar 7, 2023 13:30:40 GMT
She'd better not, it's my car. There's a restaurant that she and her friends like that they hang out at.
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Post by fearlessfreap on Mar 7, 2023 13:33:44 GMT
Now that I think about it, they're probably all on their phones.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 7, 2023 13:43:59 GMT
He's generally very confident in social situations, and pretty quick witted and funny with it. Most of his mates are confident too, much more than I was with adults at his age. Sure, they're all entitled selfish shits, but fundamentally they seem well adjusted and decent. I don't see much to worry about. This is the way I see it with my sister's kids. They SEEM more well adjusted than me and my friends were at their age. Whether this is a general change in attitudes or behaviour or whatever....who knows? but - again - I think people's worries about social media are probably a bit overstated.
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rayge
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Post by rayge on Mar 7, 2023 13:48:39 GMT
He's generally very confident in social situations, and pretty quick witted and funny with it. Most of his mates are confident too, much more than I was with adults at his age. Sure, they're all entitled selfish shits, but fundamentally they seem well adjusted and decent. I don't see much to worry about. This is the way I see it with my sister's kids. They SEEM more well adjusted than me and my friends were at their age. Whether this is a general change in attitudes or behaviour or whatever....who knows? but - again - I think people's worries about social media are probably a bit overstated. My mother used to worry about me because I always 'had my head stuck in a book'.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 7, 2023 13:50:14 GMT
Oh, my dad used to SHOUT at me - repeatedly - to go outside and play football with the lads when I was reading or playing on my VIC-20. I've no idea why, really. He was a teacher and not especially sporty himself.
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