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Comment by tomlock | Hacker News Reader

I think no generation has really seen their criticism of the new generation as "kids these days" prejudice. If they did think that, they wouldn't say the words with such conviction. But, that is kinda what it looks like, right?

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Perhaps this line of thinking is why many adults of today let the kids run rampage while matters of immediate importance to them go unattended. It is often difficult for a thinking person to admit to a sense of certainty, but at the risk of seeming to exclude myself from that group, I have to say that I believe this is a sheer waste of time, and almost certainly an intellectually destructive one. It is not necessarily that the kids ought to find another form of leisure, but that the amount of time and energy dedicated to this activity is unreasonable. And unlike some forms of leisure, this one bears no fruit. In the years to come, I think there will be few able to say that much of their time devoted to SnapChat and other such platforms was well spent.

Its probably fair to say that intellectual skepticism could be leading to doubt here. However, couldn't it also be that the historical understanding that every generation has fears about the state of the next and how they spend their time leads to reasonable skepticism? Video games, Dungeons and Dragons, Rock music, Jazz music etc. etc. etc.

First off - when did any of those lead to harm, considering they don't really concretely "bear fruit"?

Secondly - how is the time spent on social media "really really" the one we are being reasonable about this time?

Replace "SnapChat" with "Television" or "Video Games" in your comments, and the meaning is no different. Do you feel the same way about all diversionary forms of leisure?

SnapChat was designed to foster deliberately forgettable experiences.

Good TV shows and video games are highly memorable, perhaps even life-changing experiences.

I think it's valid to say that there are varying levels of quality in leisure.

"And unlike some forms of leisure, this one bears no fruit."

Increased connection with peers, for one. It's incredibly easy to network now. I'm young, and wasn't around for what you're looking back on as the good old days, but I disagree that there is no value to being able to send a one off "look what I'm doing" to a friend.

"Increased connection with peers, for one. It's incredibly easy to network now."

Is it, really? The girl in this article basically doesn't even LOOK at the pictures. The "conversation" is effectively: "Look at what I'm doing" "I don't care what you're doing" "Look at what I'm doing" "I don't care what you're doing" That doesn't seem like "increased connection".

But, this is also what I expect from a 13 year old.

Its easy to dismiss as more of the same, just different fads.

But 'kids these days' are actually threatened this time. With inactivity, sugar, constant media bombardment, record-short attention spans. The list goes on. They're being raised in an environment that no animal was ever exposed to before in history.

And they keep making more frantic devices, and the kids keep buying them. And we'll run off the cliff like lemmings and wonder what happened.

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