

Tech addiction 'harms learning' - RiderOfGiraffes
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8256490.stm

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roundsquare
_And 84% openly admitted copying chunks of information from the internet into
their homework or projects on a number of occasions._

I don't know what the numbers were like 10 years ago, and its obvious that the
internet makes this much much easier but wow, thats a huge number.

------
DanielBMarkham
_Technology addiction among young people is having a disruptive effect on
their learning, researchers have warned...The study of 267 pupils aged 11 to
18 found 63% felt addicted to the internet and 53% to their mobile phones._

Wow.

I wonder what has to happen before society takes a hard look at learning and
technology. The only examples I can think of where laws or ethics have been
created is the case of texting and driving, which is killing people as fast as
drunk driving (or faster).

You'd think if the next generation were being made 40% stupider (a number I
just made up) we'd care at least as much about that as people plowing their
cars into each other.

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes

      > You'd think if the next generation were being
      > made 40% stupider ... we'd care at least as
      > much about that as people plowing their cars
      > into each other.
    

Color me cynical, but I don't think so. Being intelligent isn't valued in
society, whereas with cars everyone thinks everyone else is a danger to
themselves and society and need to be constrained/curtailled. Generally person
A doesn't want others to be intelligent, because it makes them feel stupid.
Person A also doesn't want others to text and drive because it puts them
(person A) at risk.

Hence laws will be passed to prevent text and drive, but not to prevent
stupidity.

~~~
DanielBMarkham
Perhaps western societies will implement technologies that have similar
effects as opiates and then third world countries will produce the next
generation of intelligentsia. As these third world nations develop, they'll
sink in output as well.

Kind of like a Peter Principle for cultures.

Of course it may not play out that way. It may be that we end up with three
strata of people: the non-connected, the connected-and-addicted, and the
creatives. If so, it would be in the creatives interests to keep as many
people as possible non-connected. (!)

Not sure. But I know we're headed into uncharted territory here. It has that
runaway train feeling about it to me.

~~~
Ixiaus
It's the old institution that fears the rapid change and tries to cling to the
traditional view of education and intelligence.

To those young people, they communicate clear as day with each other. To them,
the _propers_ are out of touch, boring, and slow.

I'm a young person and thus far have tempered my internet addiction quite well
with a social life and plenty of book reading. I also follow the train of
thought of the _propers_ , clear, focused, and concise thought is expressed
unhurriedly and deliberately.

I love writing clearly and professionally (albeit I am a bit lax in comments
and discussion forums such as HN). But youth should not be forced to find that
appreciation for the ancients; they should find it through their appreciation
of what they are becoming and what the came from which is only something they
can do on their own.

Technology isn't changing things for the worse, it is simply providing so much
information that people (youngins especially) are trying to keep up with ALL
of it. This is what creates the unfocused and distracted state of mind, not
the technology itself.

I have high hopes for Linked Data, the Semantic Web, and more broadly: the
data, information, knowledge pipeline. The more meaning we give our data; the
easier it will be to have technology manage that mass of input for us:
allowing people to refocus on the knowledge. The meaning.

~~~
DanielBMarkham
A psychological addiction is defined as when you spend time doing one thing
instead of doing something else that you feel is more important. It's self-
referential: only you can define whether you are addicted or not.

By this measure, if the youths are _self-reporting_ that they feel addicted to
the internet, that's very, very interesting. It says that the youths
themselves feel they should be doing something else, not some old, stodgy
institution.

I know it's fun to play the old folks against the young, but you just can't
keep waving your hands around and yelling various buzzwords. At some point
there are real, independent metrics that come into play. Kids can't spell. The
ability to put together (or appreciate) a cogent argument spanning more than
ten words is being lost on a generation. No amount of technology is going to
give critical thinking skills back to people who spent their formative years
on FaceBook and WoW instead of somewhere else -- anywhere else.

It's not like being instantly connected to the world's body of knowledge and
each other is going to make up for cognitive potential lost through
inattention.

We've got some really cool stuff going on now -- stuff that has the potential
to change the nature of what it means to be human. But we shouldn't put on
blinders to the sucky stuff simply because the cool stuff is so neat.

~~~
Ixiaus
Then the important question is, whether students _are_ labeling themselves as
addicted or are being labeled by the examiners.

I never intended to play the old folk against youth; I was attempting to argue
that, instead of worrying about the cogency of self-expression or critical
thinking skills in the framework of _traditional_ systems (which never had the
level of technology we see today, including my schooling) I think the focus
should be placed on how to inspire youth to develop/learn logical thinking,
rhetoric, and grammatical skills within the context of an evolving system.

I'm arguing for the reform of our educational system to grow with these new
technological advancements and with it all of the changes to language and
thought processes.

Is this not how new languages and forms of expression are created/evolved? I
fully agree that precise, clear, and centered thinking as well as mindful and
accurate self-expression are of the utmost importance in the development of an
individual. However, I think a fine line must be drawn between compatibility
of thought and expression between generations: should we conform to their new
and developing form of communication and thought? Or should they conform to
the old ways?

You are correct, that technology will and should never replace the use of the
brain. It is, however, becoming a deeply integral aspect of our culture; just
as the book did once the printing press was invented.

There is a lot to say on this subject, I'm going to leave it at that as this
input box is too tiny and I have trouble reviewing what I wrote!

Fun conversation :)

