Download - Social Media's Anti-Socialization Myth
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From the blog
Middle Class Tech
Social Media’s
anti-Socialization
Myth
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During a kitchen table conversation
regarding the effect of internet-connected mobile devices and social
media on the six grandchildren
in her house
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…my mother-in-law asserted that
these elements were detrimental
to the face-to-face socialization
opportunities and practices of the ten to fourteen-
year-olds scurrying around her
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She was concerned about the amount of
time they were spending using their
iPod Touches and iPads to engage in social media using services like Snapchat,
Instagram, Kik, and Vine
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I've heard this perspective
shared by others—often older folks or
those who engage with
technology less than the
average person
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Many simply don't share the
wanderlust of modern
millennials toward their back pocket devices and
wi-fi-connected touchscreens
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It's an attitude and fear that is
increasingly pervasive among
paranoid helicopter
parents and those who spent the bulk of their
lives without this technology
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Unfortunately, ignorance
breeds fear
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Myriad online virtual communities
are not corrupting the social skills
and manners of our children;
I contend that they are
enhancing these skills
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Before you call BS, let me
explain
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Via school, marching band,
volunteer activities, neighborhood
friends, shopping, the library, etc,
the average middle-class child
gets plenty of face-to-face socialization
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Instead of replacing in-person
interactions, mobile
device-based social media
are
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actually supplementing
them
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We're augmenting what we've
always done as humans
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We're still sitting around
camp fires telling scary
stories
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But we're now also telling
those stories on Tumblr, Facebook,
WordPress, and Twitter
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My 13-year-old daughter can
slam out text on her iPod Touch faster than any
human I've witnessed
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But this mastery doesn't
come cheap
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This girl has spent
much time locked into her mobile
device
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Sucking down virtual
companionship and cultural enrichment
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Considering the huge investment
of time and effort she's
made in these app-based
networking services
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Are my daughter‘s social skills
lacking?
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Hardly—
she's probably the most
social member
of my family
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She has twice the social skills of some Amish
kid cruelly deprived of technology
and modern social media
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All without negatively
affecting her grades or volunteer activities
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Not only does social media
not put a ding in the real-world
social skills of these kids
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Social media often directly enhances the
social skills of children
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The virtual social media world feeds
our "face-to-face" reality
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And vice
versa
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Ignoring such a detailed
dynamic gets a Luddite
button pinned to
your chest
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Some kids are really
social
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It will show in both
their physical
and virtual social worlds
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Which will surely
interact
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Other kids are shy or
introverted
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A virtual or social media-based
existence allows those who
may lack self-confidence
to engage with likeminded
others
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Interactions possibly too intimidating if performed face-to-face
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Working with social media
"training wheels" may actually help
young people engage in
real life
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Proving to them that they can
successfully conduct and gain
enrichment from interactions
with others
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Having options is
good
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Today, our kids have more varied
and dynamic social
opportunities than at any time in the
history of humans
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Our children's socialization
skills are surely critical as they
mature
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Is negatively criticizing young
people for harnessing
social media to interact
and share ideas
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Across borders, cultures,
and stigmas
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Really the approach we want to take?
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The author kindly requests
that you check out
Home Theater
for the Internet Age
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Other Books by Curt Robbins
Understanding Personal Data Security
Understanding Digital Music
Understanding Cutting the Cord
Understanding Home Theater
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About Curt Robbins
Blog: Middle Class Tech
Flipboard magazine: Middle Class Tech
Twitter: @CurtRobbins