Comments on: The Internet Generation http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation Food - Photography & More Mon, 21 May 2012 20:11:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.7 by: miles http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13217 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:20:46 +0000 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13217 Melissa, Certainly do, Sir David Attenborough I believe? Wonderful television. Miles Melissa,
Certainly do, Sir David Attenborough I believe?
Wonderful television.

Miles

]]> by: Melissa http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13213 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:12:04 +0000 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13213 Miles, One more question -- do you have access to the Planet Earth series? It's amazing. Melissa Miles,

One more question — do you have access to the Planet Earth series? It’s amazing.

Melissa

]]> by: Rod http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13193 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:43:26 +0000 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13193 Miles absolutely ! Technology evolves and life moves on. Everything that we create has the opportunity to benefit us or set us back if abused. In the case of parents that means monitoring what your children do. I think traditional educational values have to change and we must accept that with information technology being so readily available because of the internet knowledge is no longer what it was. Rod Miles
absolutely !
Technology evolves and life moves on.
Everything that we create has the opportunity to benefit us or set us back if abused. In the case of parents that means monitoring what your children do.

I think traditional educational values have to change and we must accept that with information technology being so readily available because of the internet knowledge is no longer what it was.
Rod

]]> by: miles http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13175 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:56:25 +0000 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13175 Rod, I'm impressed, a conservative view. Well done! Seriously though a lot is down to parental values and how they perceive a child's upbringing to be. A childhood spent eating junk food in front of a screen cannot be right and the knock on effects of that are all to plain to see. Miles Rod,
I’m impressed, a conservative view.
Well done! Seriously though a lot is down to parental values and how they perceive a child’s upbringing to be. A childhood spent eating junk food in front of a screen cannot be right and the knock on effects of that are all to plain to see.

Miles

]]> by: miles http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13174 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:53:14 +0000 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13174 GDave, You are quite right, basic English is suffering as a result of our shift towards the computer keyboard. I wonder how many English children/adults know when Microsoft (for example) auto correct their typing to accomodate the US spelling of certain words. I bet they don't! Pass the Bateman's :) Miles GDave,
You are quite right, basic English is suffering as a result of our shift towards the computer keyboard. I wonder how many English children/adults know when Microsoft (for example) auto correct their typing to accomodate the US spelling of certain words. I bet they don’t!
Pass the Bateman’s :)

Miles

]]> by: miles http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13173 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:49:22 +0000 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13173 Cid, A great comment, it's not easy is it? The problem is that a large majority of school leavers are going to have to take on jobs which do involve manual work amongst groups of fellow workers so social interaction skills are imperative. Balance, is everything. Miles Cid,
A great comment, it’s not easy is it? The problem is that a large majority of school leavers are going to have to take on jobs which do involve manual work amongst groups of fellow workers so social interaction skills are imperative.
Balance, is everything.

Miles

]]> by: miles http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13172 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:42:42 +0000 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13172 Melissa, Daisy Dukes legs..don't get me started! For me I probably started as Evil Kenievel before going onto Starsky and Hutch. I watched them all but by the age of twelve I think M*A*S*H was my favourite. I miss those times, I looked forward to a half an hour episode each week, often the humour was a little too grown up for me but I loved it. I also loved to watch programmes on wildlife, anything factual really if my parents let me stay up late enough! I know I sound very old but 'back then' children used their imaginations more, we all played games, roll plays etc. Now you have the latest technology at your disposal which takes much of the imagination that reading a book invites you to do. I'm all for advances in technology but I can't help but feel we've lost some of our innocence along the way. Miles Melissa,
Daisy Dukes legs..don’t get me started! For me I probably started as Evil Kenievel before going onto Starsky and Hutch. I watched them all but by the age of twelve I think M*A*S*H was my favourite. I miss those times, I looked forward to a half an hour episode each week, often the humour was a little too grown up for me but I loved it. I also loved to watch programmes on wildlife, anything factual really if my parents let me stay up late enough!
I know I sound very old but ‘back then’ children used their imaginations more, we all played games, roll plays etc. Now you have the latest technology at your disposal which takes much of the imagination that reading a book invites you to do.
I’m all for advances in technology but I can’t help but feel we’ve lost some of our innocence along the way.

Miles

]]> by: Melissa http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13163 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:00:58 +0000 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13163 We're in the midst of a full-on blizzard over here. Yesterday was beautiful, today everything is at a stand-still. We're expecting up to 18 inches of snow in town and several feet up in the mountains. I'm not leaving the house today as everything is closed, canceled, or buried. In fact, Fairbanks (wonder dog of the north) is happily curled up by my feet. He's not even sure he wants to be outside in this weather. Okay Miles, I'm going to take some time and weigh in on this subject as I find it fascinating. But first -- Cid, my sympathies to you for your run-in with Miles' spam police. Nasty bunch, I know. I've fallen victim to their numbers game on many occasions. I actually wonder if that isn't Miles' evil plan to keep his more loquacious guests in check. :-) And GDave, isn't Clifford Stoll a riot?! Always bouncing around, literally jumping around while he talks. He's definitely "out there." But at the same time, rather profound in some of his observances. He talks about how (if not controlled) being online isolates people from those around them. How the internet takes people out of their communities. He's also a computer guy (and astrophysicist), so he sees the beneficial side as well. By the way, he's the guy who many years ago caught that German kid who was hacking into US government computers and selling secrets to the KGB. Interesting character. I agree with everyone's sentiments here, the internet is a wonderful tool if used with respect and moderation (of course, I couldn't live without my Mac laptop and wireless internet connection). Having said that, I have no time for twittering and all that other stuff. I keep getting these emails from people I hardly even know asking if I want to follow them on Twitter and read their Tweets? WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I WANT TO DO THAT? All of this twitter twatter myspace stuff does stifle creativity in kids and like all of you have alluded to in one way or another, will probably have an impact on how they interact in real time with real people, especially when they grow up and are expected to hold down a job. As for grownups, social media (YouTube) became a very effective political weapon during our last presidential campaign. Obama definitely had the upper hand with that. The Vatican even launched its own YouTube channel. It's everywhere. I also think the internet has played a huge part in the current slow death of print media. I'd much rather read the MC blog each morning than the dire financial news in the local newspaper. :-) Melissa P.S. Miles, what were you doing watching Starsky & Hutch in England? Did you love the Ford Torino? What about The Dukes of Hazzard? We’re in the midst of a full-on blizzard over here. Yesterday was beautiful, today everything is at a stand-still. We’re expecting up to 18 inches of snow in town and several feet up in the mountains. I’m not leaving the house today as everything is closed, canceled, or buried. In fact, Fairbanks (wonder dog of the north) is happily curled up by my feet. He’s not even sure he wants to be outside in this weather.

Okay Miles, I’m going to take some time and weigh in on this subject as I find it fascinating.

But first — Cid, my sympathies to you for your run-in with Miles’ spam police. Nasty bunch, I know. I’ve fallen victim to their numbers game on many occasions. I actually wonder if that isn’t Miles’ evil plan to keep his more loquacious guests in check. :-)

And GDave, isn’t Clifford Stoll a riot?! Always bouncing around, literally jumping around while he talks. He’s definitely “out there.” But at the same time, rather profound in some of his observances. He talks about how (if not controlled) being online isolates people from those around them. How the internet takes people out of their communities. He’s also a computer guy (and astrophysicist), so he sees the beneficial side as well. By the way, he’s the guy who many years ago caught that German kid who was hacking into US government computers and selling secrets to the KGB. Interesting character.

I agree with everyone’s sentiments here, the internet is a wonderful tool if used with respect and moderation (of course, I couldn’t live without my Mac laptop and wireless internet connection).

Having said that, I have no time for twittering and all that other stuff. I keep getting these emails from people I hardly even know asking if I want to follow them on Twitter and read their Tweets?

WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I WANT TO DO THAT?

All of this twitter twatter myspace stuff does stifle creativity in kids and like all of you have alluded to in one way or another, will probably have an impact on how they interact in real time with real people, especially when they grow up and are expected to hold down a job.

As for grownups, social media (YouTube) became a very effective political weapon during our last presidential campaign. Obama definitely had the upper hand with that. The Vatican even launched its own YouTube channel. It’s everywhere. I also think the internet has played a huge part in the current slow death of print media. I’d much rather read the MC blog each morning than the dire financial news in the local newspaper. :-)

Melissa

P.S. Miles, what were you doing watching Starsky & Hutch in England? Did you love the Ford Torino? What about The Dukes of Hazzard?

]]> by: Cid http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13160 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:00:50 +0000 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13160 Miles, I had previously written a very long piece on this subject but was interrupted and forgot the spam protection... sadly it got 'flushed' down the ethereal lavatory and somebody somewhere in another planet will get it instead :) Suffice to say I agree with all of you in that moderation is generally best and I share GDave's view about youngsters and their relationship with computers. I wonder what people say to each other in some of these media sites when they haven't been anywhere or experienced much of life. Once or twice I've mistakenly popped into one where the conversation consisted of one liners written in terrible English.... quite what the contributors get out of this I'm not sure but it's probably their only contact with the outside world. Let's not forget that young minds are very gullible so this form of social interaction has it's dangers because it's such a secretive pass-time. Mainly though, it is the fact that they are not as comfortable with human contact which worries me. At some point these youngsters are going to be applying for jobs and most will have to learn to become part of a team. I'm having trouble getting the message across that not everyone is going to be Bill Gates or work in computer animation.... which at the moment seems a very popular career choice. Cid Miles,

I had previously written a very long piece on this subject but was interrupted and forgot the spam protection… sadly it got ‘flushed’ down the ethereal lavatory and somebody somewhere in another planet will get it instead :)

Suffice to say I agree with all of you in that moderation is generally best and I share GDave’s view about youngsters and their relationship with computers. I wonder what people say to each other in some of these media sites when they haven’t been anywhere or experienced much of life. Once or twice I’ve mistakenly popped into one where the conversation consisted of one liners written in terrible English…. quite what the contributors get out of this I’m not sure but it’s probably their only contact with the outside world. Let’s not forget that young minds are very gullible so this form of social interaction has it’s dangers because it’s such a secretive pass-time. Mainly though, it is the fact that they are not as comfortable with human contact which worries me. At some point these youngsters are going to be applying for jobs and most will have to learn to become part of a team. I’m having trouble getting the message across that not everyone is going to be Bill Gates or work in computer animation…. which at the moment seems a very popular career choice.

Cid

]]> by: greedydave http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13152 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:49:49 +0000 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/the-internet-generation#comment-13152 Miles, I recently came across some work by US scientist, author and lecturer Cliff Stoll. He is a passionate advocate of taking computers out of schools altogether. This sounds a rather radical but he does make some valuable points. He says, "In my visits to schools, I don't find children who are ill-at-ease behind a computer screen. I do find lots of kids who cannot read analytically, who do not read books, who cannot write legibly, who cannot assemble a 250-word essay. But I do not see many kids who can't use a computer." He's a very engaging chap and he clearly wears his heart on his sleeve in terms of education. Interestingly, he's also a former physics student of the late Robert Moog. There's an excellent 18 minute lecture on Youtube (which I won't link to but isn't hard to find) which touches a little on this very subject. Personally, you won't find me on Bebo, Myspace, Facebook, etc. The internet for me is a tool to learn things that I wouldn't otherwise be taught, to see things that I wouldn't otherwise see, but when it replaces day-to-day experiences that simply require you to step out of the front door then something is dreadfully wrong. GDave Miles,
I recently came across some work by US scientist, author and lecturer Cliff Stoll. He is a passionate advocate of taking computers out of schools altogether. This sounds a rather radical but he does make some valuable points.

He says, “In my visits to schools, I don’t find children who are ill-at-ease behind a computer screen. I do find lots of kids who cannot read analytically, who do not read books, who cannot write legibly, who cannot assemble a 250-word essay. But I do not see many kids who can’t use a computer.”

He’s a very engaging chap and he clearly wears his heart on his sleeve in terms of education. Interestingly, he’s also a former physics student of the late Robert Moog. There’s an excellent 18 minute lecture on Youtube (which I won’t link to but isn’t hard to find) which touches a little on this very subject.

Personally, you won’t find me on Bebo, Myspace, Facebook, etc. The internet for me is a tool to learn things that I wouldn’t otherwise be taught, to see things that I wouldn’t otherwise see, but when it replaces day-to-day experiences that simply require you to step out of the front door then something is dreadfully wrong.

GDave

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