this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
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As our online lives grow, our real-world connections shrink. I'm a teacher, a fairly young and tech-savvy one. I say that so you know I'm not coming at this like an old and out-of-touch boomer who hates technology.
Our kids do not know how to communicate as well as they used to. They don't hang out in person, they don't roam around town and make friends with the local kids in their neighborhood, they don't play outside beyond highly-structured and competitive sports, and many have ZERO real-world friends.
I spend a lot of time online. Online friendships are great and can be super important for many people. That said, I don't think it's super healthy to only have online friends. I know many kids who literally do not interact with a single real-world friend ever. It's all discord and video games.
I myself find that I only have one real-world friend when it comes down to it. Sure, I love my coworkers to pieces and I have my wife's friends to some degree. But me alone? One friend. And yes, I do somewhat blame the degradation of real-world communities for that. Gone are the days when children were raised by "the whole village."
I see what you are saying. And I appreciate your insight, but I think your post might be mostly anecdotal, and slightly myopic. And hell, mine too. But I have a 16yro and and an 8yro. Live in the suburban midwest. And while technology has impacted my kids' lives (both positively and negatively), and covid did a number on them too, I'm happy to report that my experience vastly differs from yours.
My children, and the many kids is our neighborhood, regularly socialize and play outside. There are 7 kids playing outside my house currently, and my oldest went to his hs football game last night with his friends and then roamed around afterwards for a few hours. So while I certainly don't disagree with your concerns and what you've witnessed, I don't think every child, community, region can be lumped into that same bucket.
Where are you located if you don't mind my asking? I am in the American East. I know this is a post in the European community, but my original comment seemed relevant since developed Western nations in North America and Europe seem to be facing a lot of the same issues.
Here in Northeast USA I never see kids outside. And my students are brutally honest that they don't go outside much. They admit to mostly sitting on their phones and playing video games. Even my competitive athletes say they don't play outside. It's crazy.