3 ms·

Yeah it's ironic that a few years ago people made fun of the narcissistic side of social media: selfies, pictures of inane events throughout your day. That's ac

Yeah it's ironic that a few years ago people made fun of the narcissistic side of social media: selfies, pictures of inane events throughout your day. That's actually what I DO want to see from old friends. I don't actually care to see most politics, memes, or order-of-operations problems that actual public school graduates can't seem to get. > And growing up with screens in their faces I hadn't thought about that. I definitely grew up with a screen in my face, but I also didn't have regular Internet access until I was an adult and already very sure of who I was and what I valued.

downer62 9y ago
Meh, I grew up before computers, and let me tell you: There were plenty of fucked up things to sucker yourself into, before the internet, and when it comes to growing up, unhealthy decisions have always been part of the program. Just like the newfound diversity of musical tastes and choices, there are more recipes for bad decisions, but you can only listen to so many artists, and the law of probability points to the tendency that the ratio of good and bad decisions has expanded proportionally, and whatever the choices may be, the liklihood of outcome once chosen runs the same odds as ever. I could be wrong, but I suspect that's what's going on, as far as the big picture frames up.
kelnos 9y ago
Yeah, I guess I more meant "grow up with the internet". Or, really, "grow up with services that goad you into oversharing a curated look into your life". I grew up with computers (well, first one around age 8), and hung out on local BBSes until the web came around, but even by then the worst social problems seemed to come from spending too much time chatting online and not enough time interacting with real people or playing outside. I think really the point is when people started growing up with Facebook. Given that FB has been around for 14 years now, there's a good chunk of people who are even in their 20s now who were introduced to FB as soon as they were old enough for their parents to let them have an account. Instagram came 6 years later, when some of these people were in their teens. A lot of social behavior gets hammered out in those years and growing up with FB/Instagram/etc. rather than being introduced to them post-adolescence might make difference.

downer62 9y ago

Meh, I grew up before computers, and let me tell you: There were plenty of fucked up things to sucker yourself into, before the internet, and when it comes to growing up, unhealthy decisions have always been part of the program. Just like the newfound diversity of musical tastes and choices, there are more recipes for bad decisions, but you can only listen to so many artists, and the law of probability points to the tendency that the ratio of good and bad decisions has expanded proportionally, and whatever the choices may be, the liklihood of outcome once chosen runs the same odds as ever. I could be wrong, but I suspect that's what's going on, as far as the big picture frames up.

kelnos 9y ago

Yeah, I guess I more meant "grow up with the internet". Or, really, "grow up with services that goad you into oversharing a curated look into your life". I grew up with computers (well, first one around age 8), and hung out on local BBSes until the web came around, but even by then the worst social problems seemed to come from spending too much time chatting online and not enough time interacting with real people or playing outside. I think really the point is when people started growing up with Facebook. Given that FB has been around for 14 years now, there's a good chunk of people who are even in their 20s now who were introduced to FB as soon as they were old enough for their parents to let them have an account. Instagram came 6 years later, when some of these people were in their teens. A lot of social behavior gets hammered out in those years and growing up with FB/Instagram/etc. rather than being introduced to them post-adolescence might make difference.