{"id":2083,"date":"2014-06-22T06:00:15","date_gmt":"2014-06-22T10:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=2083"},"modified":"2014-06-21T23:50:45","modified_gmt":"2014-06-22T03:50:45","slug":"sunday-soapbox-tech-is-ruining-our-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=2083","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Soapbox: Tech is ruining our kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s youth seems more focused on ‘likes’ than talking<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Kelly Hockenberry<\/strong>, Columnist, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"UTKellyColumn-copy-250x300\"<\/a>I write the \u201cSunday Super Six\u201d on a monthly basis.\u00a0 Today, I am instituting a semi-regular \u201cSunday Soapbox\u201d.\u00a0 My kids are really psyched by this announcement.<\/p>\n

Buckle up.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s topic:\u00a0 HOW TECHNOLOGY IS RUINING OUR YOUTH.<\/p>\n

I have had multiple, lengthy conversations with friends concerning the downfall of society as it relates to our children and their addiction to all things digital.\u00a0 We are experiencing first-hand the effects of relentless texting, Snap Chatting, Instagramming and Tweeting.\u00a0 How many times have you witnessed your child in and amongst a group of their peers AND NO ONE IS LOOKING AT EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY ARE LOOKING AT THEIR PHONES!<\/p>\n

This is concerning to me.<\/p>\n

Now, I know that it is perfectly normal (and a part of maturing) for teens to pull away from their parents.\u00a0 They crave privacy.\u00a0 They rely heavily on the opinion of their friends.\u00a0 However, when my sisters and I were growing up, we demanded an extra-long phone cord so that we could attempt<\/i> to hide in a closet and talk.\u00a0 Our kids are \u201ctalking\u201d to no less than 25 people at a time, at all hours.\u00a0 Gone are the days of the Parental Gatekeeper answering the land-line.\u00a0 Now, it\u2019s boys texting girls texting boys or worse\u2026SNAP CHATTING.\u00a0 Little flashes of light signifying every exchange.\u00a0 It drives me crazy.\u00a0 How much can you really convey by text?\u00a0 Without hearing tone or inflection, how are you REALLY to know how someone is feeling or reacting to what you are saying?<\/p>\n

Kids would rather SHOW themselves having fun (via social media) instead of engaging with each other.\u00a0 It is all about the \u201clikes\u201d. \u00a0As long as you appear happy in your virtual life, the physical one doesn\u2019t seem to matter as much.<\/p>\n

What is the solution?\u00a0 I have a friend who thought of a communal \u201cphone basket.\u201d \u00a0Upon entering the house, kids would put their devices away for the duration of the get-together.\u00a0 Her children were horrified by that idea.\u00a0 But, I think she may be on to something!<\/p>\n

I am also in favor of setting limits to usage (particularly during school time).\u00a0 Breaking the habit of the need to \u201ccheck\u201d social media is difficult, but achievable.<\/p>\n

What ideas do YOU have?\u00a0 Share in the Comment section below!<\/p>\n

Happy Weekend!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today’s youth seems more focused on ‘likes’ than talking By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times I write the \u201cSunday Super Six\u201d on a monthly basis.\u00a0 Today, I am instituting a semi-regular \u201cSunday Soapbox\u201d.\u00a0 My kids are really psyched by this announcement. Buckle up. Today\u2019s topic:\u00a0 HOW TECHNOLOGY IS RUINING OUR YOUTH. I have had multiple, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,8],"tags":[1521,93,1520],"class_list":["post-2083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-featured","tag-socialization","tag-technology","tag-teenagers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}