Where did reliability and higher thinking go?

So I'm looking for some insight - I used to operate about half a decade ago by asking people something like "Hey, would you like to hang out on Friday?" and then they would answer, then we would hang out and likely get something done or get to know something about each other, at least.

Now, it seems that people are not able to plan in advance. And they might be willing to text, but it will be one or two words at max, and this is no way to get anything done or convey complex ideas.

I mean I'm not saying people are stupid, I'm saying that a lot of people I interact with personally seem to have been changed by their environment to the point where they aren't able to show up, text back, call back, say anything of substance... and it is only getting worse each passing month.

Anyone else notice this?
There are many variables that could be in play here... some of which might involve me personally.

reply to post by darkbake


I'm having a hard time figuring out why this is in the philosophy forum instead of social disorder or something. My personal theory, though, is that the younger generations are being trained to think smaller in every way.

I literally send a whole paragraph on Facebook, because my buddies get sms, and they send back an 'Ok'. And I know they communicate more than that.

reply to post by darkbake


I watched a documentary (on TED, I think) we're a psychologist mom filmed what has now become what a sleepover looks like. The film showed her daughter and friends in the bedroom, each girl in her own little space while quietly texting other friends. It's the new norm.

reply to post by jiggerj


That's terrible! Both scenarios you describe have very disastrous consequences for humanity. If kids don't develop any critical thinking skills or the ability to think, that means that they could easily become a sub-human class to be ruled by elites! I'm not joking one bit!

I'm not even convinced that this texting of "friends" that you suggest involves any meaningful conversation or meaningful relationships, for that matter. I mean I might be better friends with you, JiggerJ, then they are with each other.

reply to post by darkbake


You may have missed this article from last week:

Are humans getting dumber? One U.S. biologist thinks we’ve got nothing on hunter-gatherers of old

reply to post by adjensen


So, should I date older women?

Originally posted by darkbake
reply to post by adjensen

 

So, should I date older women?

A cavewoman, apparently, if you can track one down.

And I'm not sure that age brings intelligence (beyond a certain age, of course,) but it generally brings courtesy and responsibility.

reply to post by darkbake


They are using too many braincells to be able to know how to use their phone. not to mention the remote controls around the house. They can't think of anything else or hold a real conversation anymore.

Originally posted by darkbake
reply to post by adjensen

 

So, should I date older women?

Of course. You don't have to train them and they are very appreciative.

My general impression these days is that aggressive consumer society and TV all contribute to the degeneration of left-brain thinking these days. The latest plague is cell phones that directly impact what you are writing about. They have both a physical effect (lack of concentration etc.) and a social one.
Chats and forums have an opposite effect though. Not on the same thing though - people have a far rougher time simply getting by than thirty years ago.

I already noticed in '99 that - to my surprise - people of my younger sister's generation (who were quite intelligent in other ways) had not been taught to read simple maps. Since then, we have GPS, but with that, you usually do not have a clear picture of larger and smaller areas.

It is partly an attention-deficit society.

People count on changing plans in the last minute.
While many may not survive the coming changes, technically we could come to some unified solution where people communicate and share information - even chips.

Originally posted by darkbake
reply to post by jiggerj

 

That's terrible! Both scenarios you describe have very disastrous consequences for humanity. If kids don't develop any critical thinking skills or the ability to think, that means that they could easily become a sub-human class to be ruled by elites! I'm not joking one bit!

I'm not even convinced that this texting of "friends" that you suggest involves any meaningful conversation or meaningful relationships, for that matter. I mean I might be better friends with you, JiggerJ, then they are with each other.

edit on 20-11-2012 by darkbake because: (no reason given)

Well, my friend (LOL) I found the clip.

I think that the younger generations are more affected by this phenomenon. I see it on a daily basis. People walking by or on the bus with their respective eyes glued to their devices. I just don't see how they can purposefully spend the vast majority of their time staring at those devices. IMHO, optometrists are going to have a field day in about 5 to 10 years with people coming in complaining of eye strain, lol.

reply to post by RedShirt73


You should watch the video JiggerJ uploaded, it makes me so frustrated. People aren't taking this seriously - but if a whole generation loses the ability to communicate with each other, then they won't be able to teach it to the next generation, and it is lost from humanity FOREVER.

Do you know what communication over text messaging is like? Worthless, that's what. And like the video says, people like me are getting shortchanged - like whenever I want to have a conversation with someone, they send me two words back if I'm lucky, sometimes a week later.

In my experience, text messages are in no way, shape or form capable of doing anything that a conversation could... for example, if I get too deep in some subject, I just won't hear back. Ever.

I have to be sure to stick below a certain intellectual point (usually involving 1/3 of a sentence) or risk getting no reply.

And this is only getting worse - check out threads on ATS from the early 2000's and compare them to now, and then try to figure out if ATS will even be around in another 10 years or if it will have to shut down.

----------End Rant----------

Lol... but who knows the future. We could be thrown a curve ball with the situation in the middle-east and be set back 100 years or so anyway.