Can the youth of America read a clock that is not a digital one on their i-Phone? I honestly am not sure of the answer to this question. However, I certainly have an opinion.
I understand and can grasp that the world is constantly evolving every day. Humanity itself has rapidly progressed over recent centuries, which to all of our benefits, has resulted in the highest standard of living and quality of life ever experienced.
There are many benefits to this progression but let's break down where this has led us in simple terms. Many of you reading this blog can remember when you were growing up as a child, you were constantly outdoors, exploring, being creative, getting dirty, and engaging in any type of activity you could think of with the all the other kids on the block. You would always make sure to work your way home towards sunset so you could hear the whistle to get inside for the night. Today, social media and electronic devices consume the youth of America.
The Boy Scouts of America recently re-branded to Scouting America. There are many angles to take from this one, please have at it, but the one specific to this, is that the number of enrollments continue to decline year over year. Their thought: let's promote to a broader audience to increase enrollment and engagement in our programs. Programs that are mainly outdoor, interactive group settings. Additionally, sporting enrollments in our nation have decreased in recent years at all age levels. To pile on, I recently read a survey that 72% of Americans, between the ages of 21 and 30, stated TikTok was their primary news source. Really? Is the decline of these mainstream American outdoor interactive activities a direct correlation of the youth of America being stuck inside behind a screen on social media?
There are even articles being written that show porn users have increased in recent years, and the mainstream population is having less sex, due to less personal social interactions, because they are constantly stuck behind the screen, which is resulting in increased numbers of depression in society. Listen, I am well aware that you can't believe all the stats you read, but they certainly make you think. Generations from now does this lead to a declining population, and a shrinking economy? An issue we are already facing with a shift in the baby boomer generation's life cycle. And on go the dominos...
I have a few thoughts I will leave you with. Where is the biggest opportunity to attack and look for practical solutions to the societal issues we are facing above? Is it in the education system? How can we do better educating our youth? What is wrong with the system?
Let's throw this out there. Is there an age limit that needs to be set for social media accounts? A driver's license scan to verify age? This is certainly possible with today's technology. This might create an equal playing field. Rather than certain children getting more flexibility to be on social media than others due to their parents making different rules; it can be that no child is singled out, and they all get the privilege of being on social media at a certain age, forcing their hand to interact with fellow children in settings other than behind a screen. This might be an outlandish thought, but it is a thought. It would be great to hear more of them. This is a problem we are all facing. We need solutions-based dialogue to bring ideas to the table. We have to start somewhere. The children are "our" future.
It is only a matter of time.
-VC
In regards to social media specifically, common sense, in the most general sense, comes from interacting with the world. In one way or another. If you mask yourself behind a screen and rely on your keyboard to make your point come across, you lose touch with reality and avoid the dirty work that comes with it.
Society and the general rise in technology reliance has has made it so easy to not only shy away but deprives crucial learning curves and bumps in what inherently defines us as well rounded characters.
This can lead and has led to psychologically based self imposed and self diagnoses of lets take ADHD and general anxiety as examples. This only hinders our ability to…
So much to ponder and probably many opinions. Lets try to answer the leading question. My guess is no, they can't read an analog clock. I'm actually suprised analog clocks are still a thing. For those that need clarity, an analog clock is that big round thing with numbers, a little hand and a big hand. Yes, that's a little sarcastic, but justified. In my line of work I meet and work with a varety of age groups, so I have the benefit of experiences that support my opinion and sarcasim. It's unfortunate to say the reliance on technology goes far beyond the youth. Although I grew up in an era you described, without phones and computers, I can't…