Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comMuch of the concern about cellphones and instant messaging and Twitter has been focused on how children who incessantly use the technology are affected by it. But parents' use of such technology - and its effect on their offspring - is now becoming an equal source of concern to some child-development researchers.
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HONEY!!!! Little Jimmy is up on the roof again. Will you get him this time? I'm busy writing inane comments on newsvine.
...wow maybe GoogleEarth has a live feed I can open in a separate window, so I can watch him...
...maybe even video conference it to the wife's iPhone so she can watch him too...
It gets worse. What about those parents who ignored their infant, letting it starve to death slowly while they spent their time at an internet cafe taking care of a virtual child? What is it about this glowing screen that is so much better than reality?
Just... turn them off, folks. Remember REAL reality?
......... i have totally done this too!
Normally I am a great mom ( you will have to take my word :) but I just got a laptop and I usually have it set up in my kitchen...I am totally addicted to the internet (especially to recipe.com, facebook, msnbc) I do take care of my responsibilities ( we hiked this morning with the kids, hit the park, and stopped at borders for some books) but I have been late with dinner every night this week due to recipe.com....I really shouldn't be on right now---okay this helped I gotta go get dinner started :)
That's right, Mom! Drop the crackberry at home and save it for the drive down the road!
I flew in April with my then 8 month old. There was a woman with her probably 2 or 3 year old and infant, along with presumably the woman's parents. All 3 adults were furiously texting away while we were waiting to board the flight. The poor 2/3 year old was trying desperately to get the adults' attention, going to each one, and acting a little over the top. All 3 didn't even bat an eyelash! Then on the plane I could see the little girl still trying to get their attention. Since they couldn't use their blackberries, they played with the baby, still ignoring the toddler. Finally, at the end of the flight, the mom turns to the little girl, who she had been ignoring for the last 3 hours and said, "You talk too much." That was it. WTF?!?!?!?!?
Gloom and doom. Mind your own business.
Stop trying to create news. Why is it, minor reaching problems are touted as end of the world>?
Its sad how many parents I see yakking on their cell phone while ignoring their children. But then I see married couples each talking on cell phones. lol
People need to pass a test before they can breed.
You are so right!
Agreed.................Tho' please tell me who gets to decide the criteria for the test ??
Also, how in hang does one prevent an individual who has failed this test, from breeding anyway ?? [[[ I have some suggestions, tho' I would not like to be banned from the forum ]]]
Anyway, there is a synonym for texters.............no, several..............I cannot wax foul enough to explain.................Imbeciles ? Idiots ? Lowlifes ? [ your contribution here ]
We need to have parenting licenses in this country! There are so many parents who allow have children then look around dazed like what do I do now? You see educated people who have no concept of common sense when it comes to child rearing! You see babies half dressed in cold weather , while their parents are bundled up. You see toddlers wandering all over because their parents are so self-absorbed they don't keep an eye on them. Then when the child grows up and ends up on drugs and/or commits crimes, they say it came from a "good family"!
My favorites are the ones who try to reason with their 18 month old.
We had a very sad incident a few months back where a child fell in a pool and drowned. Seconds after the 911 call went through, the mother was actually posting on Facebook about her child being in trouble. She'd been posting WHILE the child was wandering around unattended and fell in the pool, and was back at it a few minutes later.
Are you SERIOUS???? That's the kind of person who should be permanently sterilized. Your child is in trouble, medical help is on the way, and you're POSTING ON FACEBOOK? What is WRONG with people?
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/tweet_sorrow_sFClX1M5CiZWTBjDZVg2VJ#ixzz0a3vnyTQW
This woman never felt that she did anything wrong.
There seems to be I lot of ' one-handed ' , mostly moms out there, trying
to control toddlers. These are dangerous times for children.
I wonder if todays little kids will grow up to kind of resent technology, and the gadgets will get used less in the future? Or will these kids just do exactly like their parents? I'd like to see the former happen, they could lead healthier and more family oriented lives than most of us. I guess that's probably too much to ask for though
Remember written letters, landline phones, emails, couplers, modems, bulletin boards. Nope!
its is all about balance..... Of course there are people who take things too far. There must be discipline and limits on all that we do.. but this last generation (who got "trophies" for participating in sports rather than winning don't understand about limits, choices, or how to really win/lose... ) ..
you must be willing to say NO, take responsiblity for those things that you have done (including bringing a child into the world) and understand you are no longer top banana "the one and only" once you have a child. Again about balance here as well you don't ignore your needs but you do need to BALANCE.
it's the same with the spa stuff... you hear women say they would rather go to the spa and spend money doing that then doing something for their kids... no different.
This is exactly why I don't have children...ok, so maybe it's not the sole purpose, but at least I can't be blamed for ignoring my children...maybe my cat, lol!
They could be more like MY cat - when he is tired of me being at the computer, he lies on the keyboard! Seriously, though, I see so many parents talking on phones at the grocery while junior runs amuck.
Oh how I couldn't stand my wife spending so much time texting with her friends. After about 30 min. of the crap I tell her "Oh for crying out loud!! Call her a$$ and get it over with already!!!" She does better now, if she has to reply text more than three or four times she'll call. It's almost like people are afraid of an actual conversation on the phone. Oh no!! Lets prolong the inevitable conversation and waste time sitting on our a$$es texting each other instead of a 5 min. actual conversation! You like wasting so much time texting?? Why don't you mail a letter then? That oughta waste some time. Freakn lazy.
But a far as the story goes, it's the other way around for us. I'm always saying " Son, son, son.........Fine, there goes your allowance."........"What dad?!!!!"
In particular the communications electronics have been reducing the quality of life...imo. Constant updates, anal bosses, distracted drivers (in Chicago you now have to look inside the car to make sure the drivers are watching the traffic), and young people so insecure they can't do anything independently.
I sat on a plane with a young person beside me using two texting devices. When he would not turn them off after the attendent did the usual announcement, I said something and the kid looked at me like I put a trd on lap. Said there was no safety issue, and went back to typing.
I sound old :)
Then there is the one about the two teens, sitting in the same livingroom, texting back and forth, not uttering a mumbling word...............?
I mused: There will certainly not be any unplannned grandchildren in those families........
LOL PackratKing...my husband and I did that once at a bar..sat next to each other and texted, because we couldn't hear each other talk.
It really annoys me when I see a mother on her stupid cell phone/blackberry/ithingy ignoring her kid. My G-d they grow up so fast. You will NEVER get that time back. EVER. When you are in the car with your kid, when you push them in a stroller, when you're walking with them PUT DOWN THE ELECTRONICS. It's so unimportant. Your kid should be your focus. You will have plenty of time when they are older and you aren't the center of their world.
And the really funny thing is...In this day of mobile face book and 'tweeting' , the text is something like.."Going to store now"..or.."Watching 'Lost'..".
I mean, really..Who the f*** cares what you are doing with your minute to minute day. Talk about peoples priorities being f***ed up.
Well said Cindy, I stayed home with my kids for for seven years, until my youngest was five. They are now 21 and 23. I can't believe how quickly the years went by. When children do not receive positive attention, they often resort to acting out to receive negative attention.
It's not just a problem with kids though. Married couples are just as affected. I've seen families that refuse to take their dogs for a walk because they have to check their Facebook. It's pathetic what technology is doing to a lot of civilization right now.
It's more pathetic that people are to blame not technology. In the end it is the person's fault that they ignore their responsibilities and would rather rot away posting crap about themselves that no one really cares about (except to make fun of).
How parents raise their kids is up to them with todays gagets galore out there.
I'm more worried about them driving and doing it..that's where others and myself and family can get hurt.
Driving on a highway last week saw a young lady yapping away on a cell while driving, I pulled into a WaWa and she did too..she never let that cell down. She went into the store and out and left the parking lot still yapping away.
And its against the law here to use a cell while driving!
Should have gotten her license number and called the police!
I really don't think it is technology that is at fault here. A bad , neglectful parent will be the same regardless of what 'gadgets' they play with. Many times, long ago and far, far away, before the computer age took root, I would witness the same thing. But, instead of an iPod or any other technological 'need', it would simply be one 'adult' talking to another while the kid said "ma..ma..ma...ma...mama...mommy..mom..ma..ma...".
Its not technology..it's just bad parenting. Regardless of what the insignificant distraction is, if a parent with a small child is that easily distracted to the point of ignoring their child, they should never have reproduced.
I do think that the technology makes it easier for this kind of thing to happen, but it does ultimately come down to parenting.
And then down the road the same kids are going to grow up and never listen to anything their parents say and the parents will be whining about how their kids never listen to them.
Its all the fault of the Democrats and especially because of Gore as he invented the Internets.
looks for eye rolling button...
I'm going to assume you're joking...
LMAO wow Lynnetta maybe it's your not old enough to get it or don't remember anything about when Gore ran against Bush for presidancy but thats funny.
Lol wow........there are suckers born every minute. lol .
Both you dem's and rep's suck d_ck. The Independant Party and Americans will pick up where your misguided parties left off....Thanks for the good times.....ya good times.
If it wasn't cell phones wouldn't it just be something else? I don't recall my parents appreciating me crawling all over them while they read books, paid bills, talked on the phone, smoked cigarettes, did needle point, barbecued etc either.
LOL I had those same kind of parents. Card parties, TV, the phone thing was a big one with my mother that I learned quickly at a young age required absolute silence way before cell phones even, "naps" although looking back on it not sure they were napping :-O, maybe the problem is todays world we believe kids require 24/7 attention when in yesterdays world kids were seen not heard and told to go outside and play.
That's true, Chuck. I grew up during the time parents practically kicked you out the house after breakfast and told you not to comeback until dinner. The kids went around with their friends and the parents got their work done. Today, it's a different story; except for school, parents have to be with their kids 24/7 to ensure their safety. I guess this is where multi tasking takes their place. It's a much different time now.
I agree with both your comments. I'm physically with my kids a lot, lot more than my parents were with me or my brother. But we need space from one another as much as we need quality, focused time together.
Chuck, your phone comment made me laugh - if I saw that my mother was tethered to the kitchen talking on the phone I knew I was banished from her presence for the next hour or so, heh. It was normal~! :)
I also grew up in a time (and a neighborhood) when if we kids weren't in school, we were outdoors running around and having fun. Sure gave the moms (who were almost all stay-at-home moms) a little time to themselves. Nowadays, though, it's almost not safe to let your kids be outdoors unless you can be watching them. Where I live now, there are several families with young children, and they've come up with the perfect solution - the kids rotate from house to house so that they can be outdoors playing, but only one set of parents has to be watching at a time. The kids have fun, the moms get to catch up on housework or just have a little quiet time, and everyone's happy.
My pregnant daughter-in-law, driving a pick-up truck, was stopped at a red light when a lady in a van came up behind and rear-ended her. Luckily for all, no one was hurt. The truck had a small dent but the lady's van was completely bashed in in the front. She said she had just picked up the van from being repaired! While I was there to be with my daughter-in-law, just in case anything was needed, I heard the lady's daughter who was 1of 2 children in the van, say to her mom: "I told you to stop texting, Mom!" Sometimes, the kids are more responsible than their parents!
Yet another example of why everyone should be sterilized at birth. Just like we have to prove that we can be good drivers, we should have to get a license to be unsterilized and be a parent. That way no one would have to worry about children being abused and ignored and the fktards could go on with their self centered lives. Children should be the most important thing to a parent, nothing else should come before your kids, epically the lazy art of texting..call the person for fk sake.
Oh what a Brave New World you propose!
Another worthless study barking up the wrong memory stick. Look, you either are, or are not suited to be a parent - period.
I totally agree with you! Luckily it's easy for me to pass judgment because I'm not a text addict. I just don't get the thrill. Maybe because I don't have that many friends? But seriously, I know my limitations. The days I'm home with the kids I don't even know what a computer is. As for texting, I CAN NOT believe they passed laws against talking and driving before texting and driving! I never imagined that people would actually attempt this and am terrified they do. Seriously? Anyway, anyone who ignores their children regularly because they are too busy texting, checking FB are just not the best parents, in my opinion. I don't think it takes a research study to figure this out.
Really does this suprise anyone??? We see it everyday with crap like Facebook, Myspace, does everyone in your friends list really need to know you cleaned your attic, or went tanning, I had a friend a few weeks ago basically text a suicide note to everyone in his phone, and post it on Facebook, with an attempted suicide all over a girl he met online pfft.
People have no limits as to what they will say, there really are no reprocussions when your online, all awkwardness is gone, and there is a sense of security you do not get face to face with someone. How many people guys are girls would ever really talk to each other the way they do online in person a few but not many. I remember reading articles years ago when Everquest first came out about the dumb stuff people would do, I used to play a game called Ultima Online and met a woman married with two kids who would sneak around to play online. Educated people uneducated people it seems to be a sense of empowerment they get from being able to say stuff they'd never have the gull to say standing face to face with whom ever they are speaking to.
Anyone else remember the Matrix I hated that movie but wow is that what we are becomming a society so mundane that being connected is more fulfilling than life itself. Just look at the comments on Newsvine how many people would actually tell someone face to face that they are not fit to be parents or call them stupid. There are a few I am sure but... I doubt as many here would say the things they say to people they know and think it about.
Yeah, it's like a hit and run via the web. You can make the hit while safely hidding behind your keyboard.
If Bin Laden ever jammed the cell phone signals so that people here could not text, the suicide rate would hit the roof.
I just realized something. This might be one of the most ironic threads ever.
LOL
Don't these folks realize you only get once chance to raise your kids. One second their a newborn the next their college grads flying the coop. There's a time and a place to play with the phone and internet, usually when the kids are in bed, at school or doing their homework, not at the dinner table or while out on the town with them. There's nothing like seeing a family out together and mom's and dad are on their phones, junior has his face buried in his PSP and the other one has her IPOD plugged in her ears. That's not family bonding if you ask me.
(Sarcasm Alert)
We need more government regulation of texting and the internet in order to stop this neglect of our children. Those parents ought to be in jail. It's a child abuse crisis of the first magnitude. There should be a texting tax.
I like were you are going with this. I'll take it a little further. What we need to do is install cameras in the homes of anyone with a child between one day old and 15. Limits need to set on the number of minutes a parent currently in charge of the child can: watch TV, text, use the internet, and devote attention away from the child. Stiff penalties need to be imposed, and swift action taken against any and all dead beats.
;-)
Wir sind alle grosse Spinnen.
I swear, sometimes I really hope he Mayan's prediction..."The end of mankind as we know it", and the astrophysicists who predict the alignment of earth, sun, and galaxy might throw the earth off it's axis and screw up the magnetic poles...would just fry all electronics. People today would be like that corny robot on Lost In Space..."danger Will Robertson....uhhhhhhh. " Everyone would just go limp and be at a loss what to do.
It's pathetic and sad. Wherever you go, movies, eateries, community pool, beach, ski resorts, traffic, sporting events......people are oblivious to their surroundings and other folks. No personal contact. Gee, mankind sure has evolved into something wonderful huh?
What gets me is when people spend $100 or so to see a show on Broadway, or go to a concert, and then spend most of the show on their cellphones. Not only have they wasted their money, but they ruin the experience for everyone around them. Some months back there was an actor on Broadway (I'm thinking it was Hugh Jackman) that was in the middle of a scene when someone's (very loud and obnoxious) cell phone went off in the audience. He stopped dead in his tracks, looked out and started talking to the person, being pretty sarcastic. The guy got the message and shut the cellphone off - and the actor got an extra round of applause!
I am a working mom. 2 kids and 3 step kids. My laptop and Blackberry allow me to work and take care of my family. We cancelled cable, and don't watch TV anymore. I don't scrapbook because there is not enough time in my day to make memories and to record them. I don't do social networking because I use my spare time to live an actual life instead of a virtual life. I have enough trouble having an authentic relationship with my kids and my husband, and trying to keep a few friends without keeping up with every friend and aquaintence I have had since birth. I am grateful for the freedom that technology gives me, but I am conscious that I have to teach my children by example how to make choices to use technology appropriately.
You said it sister!