re: Has technology made us dumber, social media made us less social?

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we're going to compare some stats on society from that era to today, to see which era was worse

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You're shifting gears, and we've been over this many times before in selecting data we choose to argue with. I'm certainly not making the case that the 60's, 70's and 80's that I grew up in were without fault or even preferable to now in many areas, but in certain things they were, and not all of that can be broken down in a graph or statistical analysis to find the mean, mode, and standard deviation. It's found in experiences and observations through living. In some places it will be worse that others, and perhaps not as noticeable in other experiences to do with crime, extra income, etc, but I'd say this, the older you get the more you come to the realization that what builds true lasting happiness in humans isn't in how much disposable or useless shite you can buy, but in other things like life experiences, family, friends, etc that lead to a very happy and more fulfilled life. It's but a means of making something already there better not causing it to appear. IOW, a graph doesn't cause you to have an understanding of happiness. Experience in both then and now does that. Some things are much better today, and some things are a real negative effect on society from then to now. It's keeping an open mind that causes you to increase in real understanding, not statistics or graphs.

For every crime statistic you post I an quite easily give you a decrease in personal liberty, and some increases too. I can rehash the days when we didn't actually need to lock or doors, windows and equip our homes with alarm systems, and I'm sure you can post a stat that says murders have gone down, this in spite of what we see in front of our faces every day when we compare newspaper headlines then to now. Those things can be skewed to fit an agenda.

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You're shifting gears,

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well it wasn't in response to an opposing point, which is why i replied to myself

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but in certain things they were, and not all of that can be broken down in a graph or statistical analysis to find the mean, mode, and standard deviation

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oh...and what was i saying earlier about subjective evaluation and protecting your preferenced views?

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I can rehash the days when we didn't actually need to lock or doors, windows and equip our homes with alarm systems, and I'm sure you can post a stat that says murders have gone down, this in spite of what we see in front of our faces every day when we compare newspaper headlines then to now. Those things can be skewed to fit an agenda.

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yes murder is easily skewed and hidden

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I'm sure you can post a stat that says murders have gone down, this in spite of what we see in front of our faces every day when we compare newspaper headlines then to now. Those things can be skewed to fit an agenda.

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How do think they are skewing murder rates?

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You perhaps weren't privy to the conversations that occurred amongst real life human beings discussing the subject with their actual mouths attached to their neck appendages.

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since rouge's original comment replied to OML, and i have interacted with him a good bit, i can actually comment about this

OML loves movies. 15 years ago it would be impossible for him to discuss movies/shows in the way i've seen him do on here. first, his ability to know most non-mainstream movies would be very limited. second, his ability to watch these movies would be almost impossible. lastly, finding people to discuss non-mainstream movies isn't exactly easy (and was all but impossible 15 years ago)

and i know this, b/c i was in that boat 15 years ago when i was in high school and developing quite the taste for non-mainstream movies. it was very difficult to even find resources to identify these movies/shows. actually watching them and discussing them was impossible (and the internet was around then)

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It's interesting that you keep bringing up the scenario where you learned life skills via playing in the cul-de-sac. It is also possible that kids today are learning different life skills via a medium not so dissimilar from your beloved example? If I had the exact same experiences of childhood that my father had then that would be stagnation, things move forward!

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A more advanced digital version of what we called books.

And you're right about the access to information. That's a real positive, but the social skill depravation is the downside, as well as overweight kids that are marketed to death as well.

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But those discussions are more trended toward like-minded people, thus resulting more in social conformity and groupthink.

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Probably. I had a much higher view of humanity before the widespread availability of social media.

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But those discussions are more trended toward like-minded people, thus resulting more in social conformity and groupthink.

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The internet has definitely helped proliferate the spread of diverse thoughts and ideas. Just look at the wide range of views you see discussed in the religious threads on here. Through which medium would such discussions have occurred in the past?

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. Through which medium would such discussions have occurred in the past?

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Depends on your associations. People still associate with and read what they choose via social media today, just like people associated with those they chose to associate in the past.

Has anyone defined social?

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1. pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations
2. seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly; sociable; gregarious.
3. of, pertaining to, connected with, or suited to polite or fashionable society

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says nothing about being face to face

So I think we're more social now

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again, this is much more likely to be a poor child of lesser culture. the argument doesn't apply to them

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God's my witness. The thought of poor black kids never even crossed my mind once. I was thinking of the pasty fat white kids today, and their parent who can't fit in their clothes anymore to then, and who I remember when they were in shape as kids too.