Poll: The new generation of children.

[Woundingisfun]

Alright, here it goes.
I'm just a little bit worried about the new generation of kids. Why?
Lately, I have discovered that the kids up to 7 - 10 years old walk around with all sorts of electronic devices like cellphones, iPods and other sorts of things I didn't get until I was at least 12. Perhaps some parents think that it would be easier to know where their children are if they can be reached on a cell or that they can find ways to ammuse themselves with iPods but my view of this topic, is that kids should be allowed to be kids and not be supervised 24-7 by adults. They should be permitted to, once in their life, be childish and play with their friends before the world sucks them into the seriousness of life and studying ect.

Some say that this is unavodable but I say that we have not gotten that far into the electronic age that kids should'nt be allowed to be kids.
Not only does disrupt their childhood but they become insufferable brats who by the way can be really cheeky. Just this week while I was waiting for a bus that would take me to a friend. I was texting him, telling him that I would be about ten minutes late when suddenly a little runt who could'nt be older then 8 years old walked up to me and said: "Wow, you still have that cell? I threw that away a year ago."

Let's hear your oppinion in this matter.

 

[Fairee]

Kids were much happier back in the old days, running around in the woods, playing, and generally being kids. Treating them like mini-adults and letting them have all the electronic stuff means they're missing out.

It also means they're more likely to be bullied/victims of muggings, because they don't have the right phone/iPod/etc, and because they're easier to scare into giving away their stuff to keep them safe.

Yeah okay, there are terrible people in the world who do terrible things, and of course kids are constantly getting hurt (hence the first aid training for my work), but parents have always known this. Just teach the kids to be sensible and to know what to do.

 

[SmilingKitsune]

I've thought this too at one point or another, it starts to feel like technology is taking over childrens lives, though I myself love it and get a little giddy hearing about all the latest technological marvels.
I guess I feel that being a child should be simpler, swings and balls and dirt, a bit more natural.

 

[the captain]

I agree. My five year old cousin doesn't go anywhere with out his cell phone, iPod, DS, and his parents keep a portable dvd player in their car to keep him amused on long rides and if they take him to dinner with them but want to keep him occupied.

I think it's total bullshit. Kids today spend all of their time with electronic devices around them and never actually do anything that a normal kid would do. He has a tree house in his back yard that he never plays in, a pool that is only used when people come over during the summer for parties. I think it's just sad that he doesn't do any of the normal kid things.

 

[Laurefinde]

Technology is taking over all our lives. It used to be the end of the world would be an atomic war but now it just might be a magnetic pulse that will stop our technology in its tracks and send us back to the stone age.

 

[chaser[phoenix]]

Definitely.
I have little hope for the kids today and absolutely none for those of tomorrow.

It's rare now to see kids outside exercising or doing anything physical when they have an Xbox in their room and they'd quicker play NBA Live online with their friends than play the actual sport outside with the same people.

And then they wonder why they grow obese.

*edit*

Whenever I see a kid under the age of 13 talking their ass off on a cell phone, I get this urge to break the phone and punch them in the face. Is it just me?

No, it's not just you.
I hate it too.

 

[scarbunny]

Hell I didnt get a mobile till I bought my own at 18, and I had a crappy battered old tape walkman till I was about 14 and got a cheap minidisk player.

As for keeping kids of the internet Kuhul I couldnt agree more, my 11 year old neice has be caught looking at porn more than once, Im completly baffeled by it! I say kids should only be aloud on the internet while supervised, and only for school research, not alone in their room where they can look at anything.

Arrg kids who'd have 'em

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

There are 11 year old friends of ym sister who have better phones than me and their own laptops. I am jealous

]

Whenever I see a kid under the age of 13 talking their ass off on a cell phone, I get this urge to break the phone and punch them in the face. Is it just me?

No, it's not just you.
I hate it too.

Yea. More so if they're acting cool and not ringing their parents or something.

Edit: I was 14 for my first phone and I got along fine. The only problem with over-digital kids is that when society crashes and burns around them they won't be able to do anything.

As for keeping kids of the internet Kuhul I couldnt agree more, my 11 year old neice has be caught looking at porn more than once, Im completly baffeled by it! I say kids should only be aloud on the internet while supervised, and only for school research, not alone in their room where they can look at anything.

WHAT THE FUCK? Firstly, that's stupidly young. Secondly, She's a girl!

Justt.. WTF?

 

[InProgress]

I agree with what has been stated in the above posts: kids do not need fancy shmancy gadgetry to be kids. I didn't have a pc till I was 12, and I'm doing well in my mind, I don't even have a cellphone because I don't need one. I understand the fact that children have the urge to copy the actions of grown-ups, but that doesn't mean that their parents should do that. I for one, missed out on my childhood (or so I think, due to a shock I had when I was 9) and now I'm making up for it. Another thing extremley annoying about these kids: when they see someone playing in the sandbox, kiddy playground, etc, they immediately think he's an idiot.

I miss the old days

/Capt. Obvious

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

I agree with you, the next generation worries me a lot, but cellphones and iPods aren't the biggest problem. First of all kids should be kept off the internet. Sure there are filters, parental control and shit, but tell me: What do kids need to see in the world wide web thats worth risking exposure to goatse, or other stuff to sick and vile even for adults? Another thing is that it should be in good taste to buy your kids cheap or avarage priced clothes and electronics. Kids these days are so spoiled, it makes me sick. When I was 10, I didn't give a shit what brands was I wearing, not to mention I didn't have a cell phone.
Also modern subcultures suck.

Agreed. I saw some kid, couldn't have been older than 9, in an obviously expensive leather jacket. He will grow out of that in, at the most, a year. Why bother buying it?
I've only just got one (I'm 16) because I probably won't grow much bigger (I'm a big guy) and even then I bought it at Oxfam.

 

[boardman1000]

what i feel is that kids today are allowed to run around all willy nilly and every whim they have will be fulfilled by their parents who fear their kids.

what should be done is that these kids need to be weaned onto the electronic devices.

for example, with video games, the kids need to start on an old system, they still work with the new TV's. they just need to beat 1 game, like super mario brothers or sonic and then they can move up the console evolution chain to the current gen. it sounds odd for kids whose parents dont have the consoles but we do.

and the whole cell phone thing and ipod thing. thats bull shit. i didnt get any of that crap until i was 17 and had to pay for it myself. these kids are so spoiled.

 

[hannahdonno]

Its just the future tbh. I would say that children are well electronically equipped, but not TOO much. When does it become too much? Why is it such a problem that children and parents are embracing the increasingly cheaper and innovative technology?

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

I saw a five-year-old drop a mobile in the street the other day. I actually did a double take to make sure the phone belonged to the kid and not the mum. I didn't get a mobile until I was twelve and had started secondary school, and even then it was a Nokia 3310 (AKA cheap, indestructible brick). The one this girl had was fancier than the one I own now! And what does a five-year-old need a cellphone for anyway?

Man, this thread is making me feel like one of those grumpy old men, and I'm only eighteen!

I still have my 3310. It's my backup.
And yes I do feel grumpy and old as well.

 

[Anarchemitis]

My prediction is that there is going to be a nice big surge of occurrences in Brain cancer around 2016 and beyond.