Comments on: Lost Art? Really?

By: Sara

Sara — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:35:46 +0000

I do love the telegram analogy too:)

And you’re right, it’s not just the ‘kids these days’ thing. It’s more that it irks me that technology is often the reflex scapegoat. Video games=violence. Technology=ruining books. I’m not saying that there is an absolute yes or no to these ‘correlations,’ just that there are much deeper issues in our society that lead to our behaviors. It’s always easier to blame video games than it is to tackle gun rights or poverty or kids who feel abandoned by society.

By: Rita

Rita — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:36:52 +0000

Damon fwd’ed me that same article a couple days ago. Ironically, I couldn’t bring myself to read it. This post is awesome. I just went and read the article, btw (to see what I had missed). It seems to me the author is complaining about something he just happened to connect to technology and tweeting, etc. (and that he noticed while in the act of reading) but that in fact we all suffer from. It’s called Growing Older. I was complaining about lack of focus years ago (before twitter or even texting existed) and Irvin’s advice to me was to read (and specifically to read something difficult–-not children’s books which I was devouring every day. For this I chose Ursula LeGuin’s The Dispossessed). I wasn’t looking for blame in lifestyle/environmental/technological/cultural shifts. The mind has to stay in shape. Also, props to Tony for the telegram analogy. I love that.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:14:27 +0000

Great post, Sara. Poo-pooing social networking sites is just silly. Someday somebody is going to create a rich and engaging narrative experience using the very same technology. And then people will wonder how we ever got along without it.

By: tony

tony — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:47:45 +0000

i think it’s funny how adults are always so concerned about kids doing ‘the right things’ like making sure that they have time for reading, not texting at the table, and the like. how often do you see adults that talk on their cellphones in the restaurant while their dinner date sits there looking bored? or businessmen and women who miss important events because of work? who never stop and enjoy a sunny day, much less read a book, because they’re too disctracted by meetings, phone calls, and their blackberries?

it seems to be a lot of “do what i say, don’t do what i do” going on, and i think that adults don’t give kids enough credit. if anything, kids are more likely than their grownup counterparts to make an escape from the daily routine and distractions of technology to find some peace and quiet when they realize that they need it.

i’m sure adults recognize what they’re doing and they want to keep their kids from adopting the same habits of not knowing when to make time for themselves, but they shouldn’t pull out the straw man of technology to try and make their case. technology is a tool, not a harbinger of the end of civilization.
besides, i’m sure that parents of the past hated it when their children were always getting telegrams instead of taking time to write a simple letter. and don’t get me started! it’s as if they never learned the english language!

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By: Peggy Abrahams

Peggy Abrahams — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:51:02 +0000

This is such an important issue you’ve eloquently addressed – how access to technology and social networking empowers children – and makes them more informed as well. Kids used to spend hours on the phone – now they text at the dinner table. Whether it’s TV, video games, or the Internet competing for attention – there’s still time for reading.

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:50:20 +0000

Nice irony:) “Eat your broccoli.” I like that. I did end up wondering while I was writing this post if the ‘buzzing’ of technology is heard much louder by older generations. Perhaps it is more distracting to them because they aren’t used to it and haven’t found creative uses for it.

But by the time I got to the end of that thought, it just felt like making excuses. And just adding to the already broad generalities being made by these articles.

And I love LA for the same reasons. The contradictions and the bizarreness of the place makes it heaven for a writer.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:35:41 +0000

Hi Sara! Caught this from a link through Facebook. Great post! I like the point that these technological advances are giving teens an opportunity to connect, whether that’s with their favorite authors or with other teens sharing their experiences across the world.

Technology is just necessary now, and I find it funny that some adults bemoan such sites. In some ways, it’s a delightful twist: teens telling the adults to “eat their broccoli” when it comes to these changes.

A place where we have the unique combination of flashing police lights and yard sales. Ahhh, I *heart* L.A. for this very reason. In what other city is the “ghetto bird” (helicopter) hovering day and night? Only in L.A. :D