Some Peoples Kids
And from here, I launch into a tyrade about individuals in this country, and all over the world really, and their attachment to the internet.
I had the misfortune of stumbling upon a site in April that seems to have sucked me in :P I make graphics, I post stories, I proofread (funny, huh? :P), I do coding, I moderate...I do all of these things with a smile and a nice thick layer of detachment.
About a month ago, a cute little idea was proposed about grouping members into teams and hosting little competitons. The group of us that run the place promptly put the keilbash an that - we have lives, familes, friends (we think anyway, its been a while since we were away from the computer for more than 10 minutes) and, peroidically, we like to spend time with them, not to mention do one of the other 10,000,000 things that can be done on the internet. It hasn't been discussed since, save a few people who beg us to do it and get ignored.
This morning, I log on, ya know, cuz i'm so busy here at work, and find that some idiot has claimed that this concept is his own (ignore the fact that I can cite about 100 other websites, many of which have been around and been doing this since this kid was in diapers). But, not only is it his idea, he wants the thread in which it was suggested removed and the member responsible for "stealing" it from him banned. Can anyone say rediculous? I can.
So I write him a polite response (polite in comparisson to the responses he got from a few other users...most of them involved garden tools and various body cavities). The overwhelming feeling that I got from this is one that i've been getting so frequently lately: the entire global population of individuals between the ages of 10 and 18 are not stable enough to use the internet.
These kids, and it is mostly kids, get so wrapped up in what is happening, so connected with other people, that they lose a grip on reality. The line between the internet and real life has been blurring for years, interfaces getting better, personal connections being forged, outreach to other members of the "global community," and all in all that has been a fantastic development, but the youth can't seem to find the line anymore. And what's really confusing is that the vast majority of them exist peacefully with one another, lying to eachother about who they are, trying on different faces, and knowing full well that everyone else they're speaking to is doing it too, but others can't seem to comprehend that the internet isn't accountible.
I'm of the "internet generation" I "played" in chatrooms as a kid, and I wasn't scarred by it, but at that time, the line wasn't so fuzzy. I'm starting to worry that we've either taken it too far, or that we've lost a grip on our kids. And naturally, the instinct there is to cite the studies that show what we've done to American children, but this isn't just America. It's india, britain, australia...it's all over the map covering so many social and political mores its not even funny, but nevertheless it seems that these people are sharing the exact same problem: They've gone mad.
I'll leave you all with this little gem.
"You should be responsible for keeping the law and the order in the forum.
"Would you like it if I stole your idea? I've been monitoring the forums, and I have reported the persons who stole the idea from me. As proffetionals I expect you will understand and satisfy my demands."
I had the misfortune of stumbling upon a site in April that seems to have sucked me in :P I make graphics, I post stories, I proofread (funny, huh? :P), I do coding, I moderate...I do all of these things with a smile and a nice thick layer of detachment.
About a month ago, a cute little idea was proposed about grouping members into teams and hosting little competitons. The group of us that run the place promptly put the keilbash an that - we have lives, familes, friends (we think anyway, its been a while since we were away from the computer for more than 10 minutes) and, peroidically, we like to spend time with them, not to mention do one of the other 10,000,000 things that can be done on the internet. It hasn't been discussed since, save a few people who beg us to do it and get ignored.
This morning, I log on, ya know, cuz i'm so busy here at work, and find that some idiot has claimed that this concept is his own (ignore the fact that I can cite about 100 other websites, many of which have been around and been doing this since this kid was in diapers). But, not only is it his idea, he wants the thread in which it was suggested removed and the member responsible for "stealing" it from him banned. Can anyone say rediculous? I can.
So I write him a polite response (polite in comparisson to the responses he got from a few other users...most of them involved garden tools and various body cavities). The overwhelming feeling that I got from this is one that i've been getting so frequently lately: the entire global population of individuals between the ages of 10 and 18 are not stable enough to use the internet.
These kids, and it is mostly kids, get so wrapped up in what is happening, so connected with other people, that they lose a grip on reality. The line between the internet and real life has been blurring for years, interfaces getting better, personal connections being forged, outreach to other members of the "global community," and all in all that has been a fantastic development, but the youth can't seem to find the line anymore. And what's really confusing is that the vast majority of them exist peacefully with one another, lying to eachother about who they are, trying on different faces, and knowing full well that everyone else they're speaking to is doing it too, but others can't seem to comprehend that the internet isn't accountible.
I'm of the "internet generation" I "played" in chatrooms as a kid, and I wasn't scarred by it, but at that time, the line wasn't so fuzzy. I'm starting to worry that we've either taken it too far, or that we've lost a grip on our kids. And naturally, the instinct there is to cite the studies that show what we've done to American children, but this isn't just America. It's india, britain, australia...it's all over the map covering so many social and political mores its not even funny, but nevertheless it seems that these people are sharing the exact same problem: They've gone mad.
I'll leave you all with this little gem.
"You should be responsible for keeping the law and the order in the forum.
"Would you like it if I stole your idea? I've been monitoring the forums, and I have reported the persons who stole the idea from me. As proffetionals I expect you will understand and satisfy my demands."
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