One issue I might like to address is the dissociation of humans in the modern world. This has bothered me since my days in middle school when everyone started to get cell phones and laptop computers. Many of the youth my age stopped calling one another and speaking to one another face-to-face and started to text one another and simply instant message or email one another. It seems to have further affected people because even here, in my BYU community, I have noticed this (especially in my classes and my social circle). People no longer ask for notes from people in person or study together, rather they send mass emails to their classmates and send notes and study guides around online. I believe that this needs to be changed, and I hope that this can change now.
My audience would be the youth of today, maybe more specifically the youth of my home ward. Having seen and experienced the awfully ridiculous behaviors myself and finding it rather horrible that people can no longer connect on the same level, I would be able to show the youth that I understand the current social mores. I would like to address them via a letter or some kind of discussion so that I can be involved and really drive my point to the youth.
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This reminds me of the talk given my Elder Bendar a year or two ago called "Things as they Really Are". You might want to look it up.
ReplyDeleteMaybe in your arguement you could address the idea that texting and IMing and things of that sort are addictive and many people once they get pulled into it they can't get out of the habit.
Addressing the youth of today is a great place to start but sometimes they dont like to change their habits. Maybe if you also address the parents? If the parents could raise their children in a way that teaches them to limit their texitng (ect.) use and instead actually speaching to eachother. I know the influence of my parents has helped me to avoid being sucked int the texting craze.
Another sad example of what you are trying to prove is something that happens in my ward here at BYU. Kids will be sitting down the bench from the other person during sacrament and they would be texting eachother. It is very sad and pathetic that they can't wait a few minutes to actually talk to each other
Braden I agree! I hate talking to people over the phone or having long conversations over text or chat! many people are becoming socially retarded in my opinion. I was talking to a kid back home who told me the hard thing about Dating is that you have to talk to your date!!!! hahaha he said that in texting he has time to think about responses and think of conversation... THAT IS SAD!!!! I think another good audience is the parents of the younger youth. so they raise there kids the right way. which means not giving a 6 grader a cell phone with text and internet!
ReplyDeleteTy: Sadly I have seen kids in about 3rd grade with cell phone (with unlimited texting) and internet. Its wrong I tell you.
ReplyDeletehaha THATS SO SAD! my parents wouldn't let me get a cell phone.. so when i was 18 i went and bought one! haha but on the other had of the argument my mom now allows my 15 year old brother to have a cell because now she can more easily get a hold of him and know where he is! so I think we can say that cell phones like many things can be a blessing if used properly... haha like the internet. the question is how do we regulate that? would taking text away fix the problem? Im curious of a good solution.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the suggestions that others have made. I just have one more of my own. You could maybe look into other genres rather than just an open letter. While I think it is a great one and you should pursue it, possibly consider video media (Youtube) or something like that to address the issue. I think that way you would be able to reach a larger audience because a lot of kids I know hate to read but spend hours surfing the web and such. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI believe they do offer restricted phone plans where the kids can only dial a pre-set group of numbers (i.e. so your mom can get a hold of you). I would lay the blame for this phenomenon on lazy parenting, not technology.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see how our world has become. People are becoming more connected through the internet, texting and facebook chatting, yet they have very few true friends and are isolating themselves from normal human interaction. I'm happy someone is willing to address this often overlooked topic.
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