Comments on: Fishing for an identity

By: Whitney L

Whitney L — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:58:18 +0000

Unfortunately we spend our daily lives living in a virtual world. Although the internet is a very useful thing, it has taken away much of that personal bonding time with other people. The cyber world makes our relationships with people different. It also takes away from us learning about ourselves and living our own lives. We identify ourselves by what we post on the internet and also hide our real-selves because of what we post on the internet. We do not take the time to be with people, but rather follow them online. Instead of going out and experiencing life, we look at people’s pictures and posts about things they are doing or looking at places online wishing we could go there instead of making it happen. I see it as a lazy way of living. It takes time and effort to get together with people, and people don’t want to put in that time or effort unfortunately.

By: Brandon France

Brandon France — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:58:48 +0000

The virtual world is where we spend most of our time now. It is sad to know that we do not spend enough time learning about ourselves and where we come from and what our story is. Yet, we know the creator of Facebook and who the latest YouTube stars are. I think that we all must have a balance in our lives between reality and how much time we spend in the virtual world. I was lucky enough to know my great grandparents and their stories. I learned where I came from and how strong we all are as a family and as people. I am lucky enough to have dinner every night with my family. It is one of the perks of being a commuter at APU. I work in the coaching world and I find that there is a greater loss of character and integrity within the sport. Coaches do not coach to build an athlete’s character or to help young men grow closer together through a common goal. It has become a win at all costs mentality and nothing can derail them. We must remember and know where we come from and what our values are and only then can we grow.

By: Daniel Abella

Daniel Abella — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 04:57:01 +0000

I am in agreement with what this article is pointing out. As someone who is interested in the development of the youth of this next generation, this has been a constant circulating discussion. The warning signs are clear:

1. Today we constantly need a wifi connection…it’s why we are willing to pay a ridiculous amount for our cellular data plan. Hotspots are no longer enough for us. We need the assurance that our facebook profiles, twitter accounts, gmails and other sites are available for us at any time. Addiction?

2. Today we constantly trade one conversation for another…we do it all the time when we text in the middle of a conversation or pick up a phone while talking to someone. How is it that we cannot focus on the person who is already investing their own time in this conversation. I have sat in groups where hanging out meant five of us in a corner all having our own conversations on the phone with people who we wanted to talk to. What does this say to the person who we ignore right in front of us for a digital message? I have had this happen to me on numerous occasions and let me tell you, I don’t feel like the person is truly interested in what I have to say after this happens.
Addiction?

3. Today we constantly spend time with our friend technology. How is it that we have come to a point where apps replace live entertainment? Where video games are put in place of actual recreational events? Don’t get me wrong, technology is definitely nice…but why have we let it stray so far as to become a replacement?
Addiction?

Today’s youth are beginning to experience the world of technology at an earlier age. My godbrother held his first handheld game console when he was five years old. What is scarier is that these technologies many times have limited or no barriers for the content that can be accessed. No doubt this will be a discussion that teachers and youth workers alike will continue to talk about as it becomes an ever increasing issue. The testament to this problem is the amount of revenues spent on software….an intangible product! Still think we’re not addicted?

By: Jim Willis

Jim Willis — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 05:30:48 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Arthur. You make some good points here about our identity in the age of the Internet.

By: Yi-Fan (Arthur) Shih

Yi-Fan (Arthur) Shih — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:33:09 +0000

I totally agree with this article and have the same feeling about it. After I look back, I realize when I was little, there is still have video games, but still not popular. We will spend time together and have fun together. There was so much fun to spend family time together. However, after the video games and online games growing up, we start spend lot and lot of time on them and forget about family time. The technology is too convenient for us to connect each other’s, so it makes us become lazy and never spend time together again. The good thing for me is that Taiwanese culture is we have to pay respects to a dead person from our family. Therefore, we will have our family picture on our house wall and we have to go to their grave for clean their grave and bring the food for them every year. My culture helps me to remember my family and respect them. I am happy about it because I think it is really important to know our own family.

By: Jim Willis

Jim Willis — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 22:38:25 +0000

Tegan, You raise an important point about the responsibility of older siblings to steer their younger brothers or sisters through the maze of the social media and responsible usage of it.

By: Tegan Pitt

Tegan Pitt — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 02:52:17 +0000

I think of my life as a child and how I spent it with my parents. My mom and I would bake things together, anything with chocolate really. With my dad and I would go down to the park with my baseball glove and I would insist that he throw endless pop-up balls because they were my favorite to catch. Now when I go home I see my fourteen year old sister glued to the TV, the internet, her I-pod, or all three at the same time! I always try to get her to go to Caribou with me when I visit and play chess, which we always end up loving. I think now in a world of social media, it is up to the older siblings or parents to suggest fun outing with their children or younger siblings. They just need that extra push and once they are out the door I think most of them would admit they are having more fun then sitting in front of a screen.

By: Jim Willis

Jim Willis — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 17:43:26 +0000

Emily,
Many of us wish we had paid more attention to stories our parents told when we were young about their parents and grandparents. It’s nice to know we can use the Internet to help us trace that family tree if we like, however.

By: Jim Willis

Jim Willis — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 17:39:41 +0000

Danika,
Always glad to hear that some people are still plugged into their family history!

By: Danika Norman

Danika Norman — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:43:03 +0000

Sometimes it is good to be reminded that we spend way to much time online or in front of the tv. I do actually know a good amount about my family history. However, I usually only hear it in bits and pieces at family gatherings. It is true that the times of sitting with our relatives and listening to them tell stories is in the past. The internet and television can be so distracting and oftentimes, even at family gathering, I would rather watch the big game on tv than talk to my relatives. Although the internet can be helpful for some when trying to learn about their relatives, it is usually just a distraction to those of us who have the ability to sit and talk to ours.