4 ms·

> I'm curious: how do the "weird ones" do? The outsiders, contrarians, the ones who don't quite fit in and who might even take pleasure in not caring about

> I'm curious: how do the "weird ones" do? The outsiders, contrarians, the ones who don't quite fit in and who might even take pleasure in not caring about social media? Anecdotally, really really well! based on Haidt's watershed of 2009 I'm seeing what's in the pipeline at bachelors and masters level education 10-12 years on. Most of my L6 and L7 are young adults aged around 20-25. They've either had about a decade of exposure to smartphones and social media, or for some reason they have opted out. There is a very significant difference in their abilities and attitudes. I can almost see it in their eyes in the first tutorial. Motivation is higher. Punctuality and commitment are massively better (they turn up to tutorials and don't email me at the last minute with an excuse) Concentration and listening is better, They are not constantly twitching and looking to their phone. Emotional range of affect (ability for seriousness and good humour) is higher. Positive interpersonal skills are better. This isn't an introvert-extrovert thing, it's about focus, openness, body language, eye contact, thoughtfulness of speech, vocabulary. It's just a different experience to meet people who are phone-free. Even ability to use technology is improved. Counterintuitive maybe. But they seem better at searching, referencing and organising information. I pretty much breathe a sigh of joy when I see a student has a dumb phone or tells me they "don't do smartphone and social media". I know there's going to be more to work with, and the outcomes are going to be interesting. The irony is of course, that these "weird ones" would have been us geeks 30 years ago. The same group you'd expect to have a more intense relation to authentic knowledge, curiosity and better academic outcomes. Things have flipped so that technology overuse is now normative, and the "geeky" thing to do is be moderate, circumspect and sceptical.

javajosh 4y ago
>Things have flipped so that technology overuse is now normative, and the "geeky" thing to do is be moderate, circumspect and sceptical. Hearing this, even anecdotally, makes me sigh with relief. What is your impression of their lives? Do they hang out with each other, or with normies, in RL, or just spend a lot of time alone?
- nonrandomstring 4y ago
  > Do they hang out with each other No. So that's why it's not a "movement" AFAICS, not unless I'm missing something emerging in youth culture. As a "weird kid" in the 80s I was delighted to find a Computer Club and discover there were others. But this is something different. You can't really rally around things you all don't do. Thinking about it now though, I didn't see "geekiness" as an _identity_ at the time. It's like that got imposed ex-post-facto in the late 90s. Seems a few are outdoors-sporty, things like long distance walking, canoeing, mountain biking and stuff. Maybe a bit "health geeky". One guy is really into astronomy and going up mountains to get better telescope views. But this is pure anecdote. I don't really have an archetype in mind. It's like "really into life, but minus the techno-bullshit and control freakery". One person described it as "slow living", but I haven't got a handle on that yet. There's definitely an anti-corporate element too I'd say. > spend a lot of time alone? My guess is that they value their time and attention, and just don't see constant connectivity and "convenience" as that much of a big deal. They're also individualistic and confident, as in not embarrassed to be without a phone, or be the one who does things differently, like holding up a line for an extra 10 seconds by paying cash (and then being the only one who tips the waitress). I definitely see myself as part of that, whatever it is - but being a 50 something computer guy who spends WAY too much time at the keyboard, it's slightly contradictory. Come to think of it, a better angle is "last of the normies" in a world gone mad. I think there's a way to celebrate being relatively tech-free as a kind of traditional normality.

javajosh 4y ago

>Things have flipped so that technology overuse is now normative, and the "geeky" thing to do is be moderate, circumspect and sceptical. Hearing this, even anecdotally, makes me sigh with relief. What is your impression of their lives? Do they hang out with each other, or with normies, in RL, or just spend a lot of time alone?

nonrandomstring 4y ago
> Do they hang out with each other No. So that's why it's not a "movement" AFAICS, not unless I'm missing something emerging in youth culture. As a "weird kid" in the 80s I was delighted to find a Computer Club and discover there were others. But this is something different. You can't really rally around things you all don't do. Thinking about it now though, I didn't see "geekiness" as an _identity_ at the time. It's like that got imposed ex-post-facto in the late 90s. Seems a few are outdoors-sporty, things like long distance walking, canoeing, mountain biking and stuff. Maybe a bit "health geeky". One guy is really into astronomy and going up mountains to get better telescope views. But this is pure anecdote. I don't really have an archetype in mind. It's like "really into life, but minus the techno-bullshit and control freakery". One person described it as "slow living", but I haven't got a handle on that yet. There's definitely an anti-corporate element too I'd say. > spend a lot of time alone? My guess is that they value their time and attention, and just don't see constant connectivity and "convenience" as that much of a big deal. They're also individualistic and confident, as in not embarrassed to be without a phone, or be the one who does things differently, like holding up a line for an extra 10 seconds by paying cash (and then being the only one who tips the waitress). I definitely see myself as part of that, whatever it is - but being a 50 something computer guy who spends WAY too much time at the keyboard, it's slightly contradictory. Come to think of it, a better angle is "last of the normies" in a world gone mad. I think there's a way to celebrate being relatively tech-free as a kind of traditional normality.