Study: Internet and Tech Making Kids Dumber?

[tommysch]

Id say we are heading for a mix of WALL-E and Idiocracy...

 

[zodiacfml]

yawn............why is this news? i've read this in tom's so many times...excluding those more than a decade ago that I was younger and reading news that television or just things many young people do makes dumber.

 

[Guest]

sigh*

the only way to make anyone dumber then their natural capacity is to apply physical force to the head. Technology is not making people dumber, internet and social media is not making people dumber, we are doing it to ourselves. Technology of convenience is commonly used to substitute for good parenting, we make excuses about over burdening workload and failing economies just so we dont have to talk to our kids, we use the TV and games console as a cheap baby sitter, we use report cards to tell us how smart or dumb our kids are rather than actively engaging them, neglectful parenting can make even Einstein a lost cause, but i guess if someone claimed bad parenting makes kids dumber no one is going pay attention

 

[dustcrusher]

Before computers it was consoles/"Nintendo" (since all consoles were "Nintendos" to non-gamers a la Kleenex or Xerox). Before old-school consoles it was the arcades, and before the arcades it was television. Going back further it was radio and comic books; I'd have to research beyond that but the point is the same- new technology is always being blamed for kids being "dumber" when they are simply adapting to its ever-increasing presence in our lives.

 

[gm0n3y]

The moral of the story is, force your kids to go outside and play. Limit them to say an couple hours a day on any form of digital media (TV, Gaming, Internet, etc). Don't buy them a phone.

People need to stop worrying that their kids will get hurt in the big bad world. I've heard so many parents not want their kids to go outside unsupervised or without a phone. I grew up in an urban area of 2+ million and spent most of my childhood playing in the various wooded areas nearby. I didn't get a cellphone until I was 16 and paid for it with my own money from a job. Parents should worry that their child will grow up to become a lazy, fat, social awkward loser. That is a lot more likely that anything seriously bad happening to your kid outside.

 

[grieve]

[citation][nom]shin0bi272[/nom]There was a study out a few months ago that said that the internet made kids smarter because they could look up the answers to questions instantly even on their phone. It sounds to me like this pilly paper is just jealous and/or conspiratorial about big corporations... I guess someone has to be the bad guy right?[/citation]
I agree with you and this comment 100%

Has everyone ever watched little house on the prairie? (Don’t admit it aloud!) Well back in those times before technology the kids knew how to farm and kill for their food. They went to some small 8 person school where they learned from a "teacher" who really is just the wife of some farmer. Their available resources for books would have been slim to none.

Today children learn more advanced things in school, even from when i went to school (im 36)... for example: my son is taking things in grd9 math that i didn’t take till grd 10…

When I was a child I spent most of every day riding my bike around, doing nothing… just ride, all day!! Now my son may be on facebook and/or playing games but at very least he is practicing reading on these sites, something I NEVER did as a child.
If everyone is getting dumber then how does technology and science continue to advance?

 

[grieve]

[citation][nom]gm0n3y[/nom]The moral of the story is, force your kids to go outside and play. Limit them to say an couple hours a day on any form of digital media (TV, Gaming, Internet, etc). Don't buy them a phone.People need to stop worrying that their kids will get hurt in the big bad world..[/citation]
I don't see the point to be honest... They can go outside and play like we used to as children.. go to the park and have rock fights, play soccer/baseball/hockey ect. But how does that make them smarter? I contest they do gain intelligence on the internet opposed to doing such activities i listed about.

I have never known any child to gain intelligence from playing outside… what do they really gain from outside activities? (Side note: my son is in organized hockey and has a group of about 5-8 friends)

Ways people learn on the internet when not even trying:
-Perhaps one of their friends will call them a name… they don’t know what it is so they google it up.. just got smarter.
- Perhaps they don’t know a word.. google it up.. Just got smarter.
- Get interested in the universe or anything else.. So they google it up.. just got smarter.
-Spell check.. You see you misspelled the word. (Spell-check taught me how to spell over the years)
-perhaps they want a new toy.. google it up and learn the value of money (prices of items)
-Sex education!! Well this may be a down point of the internet even though I do love it.

Ways to get smarter playing outside with friends:
-Go to the park and have a rock fight, catch one in the eye, get in a fight and come home… just got smarter? Well tougher anyhow. Ohh maybe some survival skills there?!
-Any sport… get fit but not smarter.
-If you ride a bike you eventually learn all the parts of it (useless knowledge really)
-I can’t think of a single outside activity that actually makes you smarter! Anyone?

BTW my 14 yr old son has an iphone 3gs, I love it… hate the bill though. I am always informed of where he is and what he is doing because of the phone/txt and lack of communication barriers. When I was 14 I was out with my friends getting high and my folks had no clue where I was or when I would wonder in… (I was gone for a bike ride.. they thought)

 

[Guest]

@grieve

i dont think it makes your smarter, it makes you more informed, but heck will it make you smarter, yes you can probably learn a great many things on the internet, but i guarantee you the majority of times the kid is playing games like farmville rather then learning the fundamentals of cloud computing

the capacity for curiosity and learning has to be fostered, playing outside or on the internet isn't going do a damn thing to change that, if the child has not been taught to question and test the boundaries of what they know then it's a moot point

and with no disrespect, if you are unable to discern where your child's location is without the aid of techno gadgetry, then there is a serious trust issue involved, if you can not discern your child's intentions whether directly or indirectly through asking them then you dont have enough involvement in your child's life

 

[AerieC]

To call this article a "study" is misleading at best. This woman's "research" consisted of A) her experiences with her son who is a junior in high school and apparently doesn't know the days of the week, B) uninformed observations of high school students at a football game, C) impromptu conversations with teachers at her son's school and D) her own opinion of technology and today's youth as a whole. There are no referenced scientific studies of any kind relating to intelligence (or anything else for that matter).

Lets see here... Aging adult ranting about how younger generations don't measure up to their own based mainly on broader social evolutions (i.e. music, literature, art, technology)? Check. Using personal observations and hand-picked examples to make generalizations about a larger group with no actual research? Check. Author's son is potentially mentally challenged (doesn't know the days of the week and, "He’s shaky on the months, too.") and plays World of Warcraft for upwards of 6 hours a day (in other words, a shining example on which to base the general intelligence of his entire generation). Check. Author's son's school apparently doesn't require students to actually read anything in AP English classes (in other words, a shining example on which to base the current state of the education of young people as a whole). Check.

Move along folks. Nothing to see here.

 

[quantum mask]

[citation][nom]ActiveInvolvement[/nom]@grievei with no disrespect, if you are unable to discern where your child's location is without the aid of techno gadgetry, then there is a serious trust issue involved, if you can not discern your child's intentions whether directly or indirectly through asking them then you dont have enough involvement in your child's life[/citation]
Couldn't have said it better myself1 Well said!

 

[grieve]

[citation][nom]ActiveInvolvement[/nom]@grieve if you are unable to discern where your child's location is without the aid of techno gadgetry, then there is a serious trust issue involved, if you can not discern your child's intentions whether directly or indirectly through asking them then you dont have enough involvement in your child's life[/citation]
My Son is 14, i do not know where he is at all times... He is 14. He tells me he is going to his friends house and i trust he is doing just that. The bauty of a cell phone is that when he and his friend decide to go out somewhere he can send me a txt **going to a movie...b home @ 7)
It is great. when i was young i would have been at that friends house with my parents informed but if we went to a movie i would just go and my folks wouldnt be the wiser... Cell phones keep us connected with our children, I do not see any negative impact.

 

[quantum mask]

I was very surprised that some of my friend's kids could not tell time on an analog clock, nor did they know how to dial using a rotary phone. I shook my head at this, but then I remembered that when I was their age, I didin't know how to start a car with a choke or how to use a sliderule. . . my grandfather shook his head at this.

 

[quantum mask]

[citation][nom]grieve[/nom]My Son is 14, i do not know where he is at all times... He is 14. He tells me he is going to his friends house and i trust he is doing just that. The bauty of a cell phone is that when he and his friend decide to go out somewhere he can send me a txt **going to a movie...b home @ 7)It is great. when i was young i would have been at that friends house with my parents informed but if we went to a movie i would just go and my folks wouldnt be the wiser... Cell phones keep us connected with our children, I do not see any negative impact.[/citation]
Don't mean to get in your buisness but kids are SNEAKY! How often does he tell you EXACTLY what you want to hear? Don't rely on technology too much.

 

[cookoy]

Duh . . . me kno use ipad, xbox, facebook, youtube. me smart and me no kid.

 

[grieve]

Quantum I was really bad growing up, criminal record and all to show for it. I became a nerd when I was about 25 because I realized I was going nowhere. Believe me I’m all in my kids business.... I’m not one of these parents who believe their kid is a saint and perfect, I feel sorry for parents like that. He is 14 experiment time is NOW! BUT I have done all that, and I’m young (36) I remember exactly what I was doing @ 14. He can’t bull sh*t a bull sh*ter.

I am the assistant coach of his hockey team (B lvl hockey) many parents on this team believe their child has serious talent. I never tell the parents any different but in my head my son as well as the rest of the team is average hockey players at best… I do find it shocking that parents believe in their child so greatly that they cannot see the truth. If an adult informs me my son has done something, I believe them and not a single word from him, I have played that game.
-My son has been in 1 fight at school… (he is a boy..)I encourage him to stand up for himself but not to start anything ever.
-gets average grades. (70’s…grd9, little studying)
-Is respectable to adults (when we are around) and doesn’t swear (in front of adults but I know he does with his friends.)
-Plays way too much COD: Black Ops.
-playing in his 10th year of hockey and is the Captain of his team…again.

My Son is very average, He won’t be president and likely not a doctor or lawyer. He will be respectful and respected and hopefully successful. At this time he intends to attend university but I have already explained 70’s don’t cut it! get your crap together.

I fail to see how having an Iphone makes me a bad parent? I also fail to und
erstand how it is assumed I have no involvement in my child’s life…. I spend more time with my son then almost every parent I know. He talks to me very openly, even about girls/drugs/liquor… Frankly, I’m a kick ass dad. BTW I’m a single parent with full custody. He sees his mom maybe 5 days a year…. (his choice, but she has no rights to see him unless I approve).

 

[hythos]

Ironically, I felt this very way - that the internets was making people dumberer.... By that point, I had used my fair-share of BBS's since 1983, though a friend started using the internet from about '92 on - and in just two years, he had lost so much about who he was.... but I'd say it was due to downloads (games, pirated software) and how he used it. He had forgotten how to use some of the more basic DOS commands, and defaulted heavily into the "Like" and "Um" parts-of-speech that have plagued American English language since the on-set of decline of the Valley-girl speak, you know?

Sadly, something similar has befallen to me, as I've lost a small amount of DOS-knowledge, and memories of so long ago... though I hope this is only due to disuse, oppose to replacement.

And yes, the age of Idiocracy has come. It was a warning prophecy just three years prior to its' commencement, which we had a chance to prevent. Wall-E is just an enevitability, from advertisers pushing the "Slacker" lifestyle, a-la Homer Simpsons' "Can't someone else do it?" slogan during his run for Sanitation Commissioner.

 

[thechief73]

Its not technology making people dumb! Its the idiots raising them and what they are using the technology for. Sure if you socially "hip" parents are a bunch of no-brainers coasting on their inherited family business or their baseless promotions for being what is sociably accepted as "cool" or "where its at", then the kids they raise are going to be a bunch of defuses also. The fact of the matter people who publish things like this are idiots themselves, making blanket statements they have no grounds or valid information to back their extreme claims to be making just for shock value.

 

[thechief73]

Oh and if your dumb enough to buy into this whole getting addicted to technology or some game, you should be shipped off to the south-pole with the doctors that came up with that BS, anyone who claims they are a tech addict and whomever else thinks its a real condition. For #$%^& REAL? Get some self control and take some responsibility for your own actions!!! Everyone just wants to blame someone else these days and not face the music that is them that is the problem.