Will people still be able to talk in 20 years?

mcgiggles

Just reading a post there and it reminded me something I've been thinking about on and off for a while. Do you think the younger generation are being completely ruined by texting/ social media, in that in a few years they won't actually know how to spell properly, hold a physical conversation, chat someone up? Is it going to end up that more people are socially awkward, or worse have social anxiety? I know I sound like an old fart (I'm only 30) but I find it affecting myself somewhat, in that if I'm in ANY ways bored, out comes the phone and I end up glued to it. I grew up really shy and so found the art of conversation quite hard at the best of times, and in the past few years I've somewhat retreated again, could be that I amn't going out or being around people as much, as I have bills to pay what are peoples thoughts on it? Should I just shut up and go back to my phone? :P:D

zSparc

Hopefully not, I'm very uncomfortable when I have to talk to people.

Winterlong

Any people under 20 that I meet seem to have a problem shutting the fck up....so no...they seem not to be affected by too much screen time.

Widdershins

People are already struggling to explain themselves with their diminishing vocabulary. I heard someone on the radio describe something as ''discomfortable'' the other day. When you have 120 characters to get your point across, you do it in the most basic and unimaginative way possible. Ever caller on the show did more giggling and used the word ''like'' than anything else.

gramar

Will people still be able to talk in 20 years?

No, we'll have to sing to each other like Gareth Gates.

mcgiggles

mcgiggles wrote: »

Just reading a post there and it reminded me something I've been thinking about on and off for a while. Do you think the younger generation are being completely ruined by texting/ social media, in that in a few years they won't actually know how to spell properly, hold a physical conversation, chat someone up?

Well it annoys language purists of course but I wonder what it means to "spell correctly". Language and spelling evolves and changes over time like any other meme. A few generations from now they may indeed spell and speak differently - but who is to say that is "not properly". Especially when a lot of spelling in English struggles to make any sense at all. Words with entirely different meanings - and entirely different pronunciations - but identical spelling. Pointless silent e's. And do not even get me started on "Knife".

But spelling aside I do sometimes share your pessimism as to the communication abilities of the youth in general. Especially when I see things like 6 or 7 of them "hanging out" in the places I used to "hang out" with my friends - but they are all sitting there with headphones in and face buried into their individual tech.

But I volunteer moderate a few school debates and things like that - and the standards there are as high - (or low YMMV) - as I ever remember them being. So I wonder if my pessimism is merely selectively cherry picking to notice what validates it sometimes.

osarusan

I can understand how being able to 'retreat' to social media might make people more withdrawn, but it could work the other way too - people could be using social media to communicate when they would otherwise not be doing so at all.

Peregrine

?

Winterlong

Peregrine wrote: »

?

:eek:

ScumLord

No, the kids of today's kids will probably see social media has something for old people and they'll instead like to hang out in bushes whispering to each other so no one can hear or record what they say.

DrPhilG

#WTF

Outlaw Pete

In 140 characters or less, what did the OP say?

mcgiggles

mcgiggles wrote: »

in that in a few years they won't actually know how to spell properly

I'm not convinced they do know now.

Your Face

You'll probably be working for them in 20 years OP.

SEPT 23 1989

I read somewhere that some kids starting school have very poor communications skills due to being stuck behind phones from a very young age

ScumLord

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

I read somewhere that some kids starting school have very poor communications skills due to being stuck behind phones from a very young age

I don't really understand why that would be. A phone actively encourages kids to understand what the words mean. A book kind of depends on others making the kid link words on paper to words they speak. A phone is displaying words and giving results based on the kids actions.

I have a two year old nephew that is able to navigate my phone, he's able to open the apps he likes, find pictures of himself. Being able to read and write has never been so relevant to young people. You could argue that back in the day of handwritten letters people might have wrote more but I'd wonder if that is true, today kids are constantly texting compared to writing to a limited amount of people they know then waiting weeks for a reply.