I have not only, like, noticed that young people, like, ruin
the English, like, language but they, like, seldom even use
it anymore.
Reports on various media outlets reported all week on the
results of testing the “Like Generation,” (My new name
for them). It seems the young folks have become hooked on cell
phones. Or you might say cell phones have become addictive
for young people. One doctor reported the use of cell phones
to text can cause a rush to the brain of a person receiving
messages. He explained the chemical brain rush is much like
that received from nicotine while smoking.
Studies have discovered the “Like” generation pays
little or no attention to emails, and less to snail mail. They
often don’t answer their phones but will respond to text
messages.
Perhaps they don’t respond to any other kind of mail
because they can no longer read whole words.
Of great concern by the studies results was the fact
many young people sleep with cell phones on a stand
next to
their beds
or even under their pillows. Doctors report sleep patterns
are disrupted and if calls or text messages are received
it is difficult going back to sleep. Student’s school grades
are becoming impacted due to their inability to benefit from
their sleep.
Some schools are using the cell phone habit to boost
their income. If a cell phone is seen during school
hours, it
is confiscated and a fine must be paid to get it
back. Proof
of the habitual use of the phones is seen when students
exit their
schools at days end. Just about every one of them
has a cell phone in thier hand. They seldom make calls
but can
text
as fast as they can talk.
Sad to say, texting has led to cyber bullying, virtual
friends and sexting, and parents are beginning
to think it has gone
too far.
Another worry is the advent of textbooks on tablets.
The digital textbooks are being distributed this
fall to students
in Wisconsin
and Florida. Seventh-graders will get Apple iPads
and 2,100 high school students in a Clearwater
public high
school
will receive Amazon Kindles. The digital textbooks
cost up to
$500 each, plus the price of the various downloads.
I’m sure there may be additional cost associated with
getting text tablets with answers to test. I’m also sure
someone will think of how to obtain them via the “Truth
of Information Act.” That is how the Coast Guard Captains
test is available today — which is not necessarily improving
the quality of current captains.
Like many other things in life affected by
the advent of electronics, schooling will
be changed.
What about
the
college students
who presently are majoring in education?
Will they be replaced by an iPad by the time they
graduate?
Will college
professors
be replaced? And here is a thought — how will they decide
who the home team will be in a virtual football game.
As I see it, I would not be too hasty about
taking up a teaching career. It may only
take one teacher
to load
enough
text
to run a whole school.
Just image a spelling bee. We’ll all be LOL as the participants
try to remember what spelling means. The time may soon come
when youngsters will have to carry a cell phone, computer and
iPad just to get through grade school.
At least all of them have built-in calculators,
so math will be a breeze.
I wonder if electronics will eventually
cause there own demise. If they replace
teachers
and cyber
bullies fight
the wars,
what will people do? Cars already
park themselves, stop without hitting the
car ahead, wipe
the windshield if
a drop of rain
falls and automatically dim and brighten
the highlights when a driver encounters
traffic. Many cars even
tell you when
to turn and which way to turn. What
will be
left for people to
do?
I guess people can look for jobs,
but there already is a glut of
electronic repair
folks out there.
Cell phones
only
last
a year, so I wonder how many people
it would take to make a cell phone
that
lasts longer — and works. Perhaps there
is a college teaching that on an iPad.