Question Of The Day, Wednesday, August 14, 2019

NY cat man

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People that allow technology to raise their children. Brace yourselves, this is my personal soapbox.

I get letting your kid have tablet or TV time while you cook dinner/do stuff around the house/want ten minutes to yourself. I also understand how integrated technology is in everyday life, from school to work to recreation.

What I do not get is having kids buried in tablets in restaurants and not being involved in conversation. Babies that can't walk yet with their faces inches from a cell phone screen while mom and dad grocery shop. Kids that have no idea how to occupy themselves in a car/bus/plane without some sort of electronic in their hand. The meltdowns that ensue if a device dies and there is no charger.

We are doing our kids the greatest disservice we have ever seen. This overuse of technology is causing motor (fine and gross) development issues. For example, kids aren't using their whole hands to grasp, etc. anymore during play. Kids aren't playing outside and learning, using their whole bodies to jump and run which is presenting as obesity and lack of coordination/body awareness in space.

In my opinion, it is the greatest travesty of this generation.

Please note: I am referring to typically developing children. Those that use tablets/technology as communication devices are, of course, an entirely different subject.
Huzzah!
 

Willowy

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Kids that have no idea how to occupy themselves in a car/bus/plane without some sort of electronic in their hand.
I WISH we had tablets when I was a kid. My mom used to talk to people for literal hours at the grocery store. We nearly died from boredom, and she would get mad at us if we attempted to amuse ourselves. And road trips were horrible. There are only so many license plate games you can play before you start bopping your brother and Mom gets mad and. . .ugh. Those are some of my worst memories.

Plus last time I went to Sam's Club, there was a 3-year-old who was literally screaming his way through the store. He didn't stop the entire time I was there. I'm pretty sure everybody wished his mom had a tablet/phone for him to play with.

BUT, I absolutely agree that parents should spend time with and engage with their kids at other times, and actually take them outside to play, and actually play with them. Which most absolutely don't do---I used to live next to the city park, and every parent would be sitting on the bench messing with their phones, ignoring their kids. I totally agree that's bad. I just think that shopping and road trips are appropriate times for tech use.
 

EmersonandEvie

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I WISH we had tablets when I was a kid. My mom used to talk to people for literal hours at the grocery store. We nearly died from boredom, and she would get mad at us if we attempted to amuse ourselves. And road trips were horrible. There are only so many license plate games you can play before you start bopping your brother and Mom gets mad and. . .ugh. Those are some of my worst memories.

Plus last time I went to Sam's Club, there was a 3-year-old who was literally screaming his way through the store. He didn't stop the entire time I was there. I'm pretty sure everybody wished his mom had a tablet/phone for him to play with.

BUT, I absolutely agree that parents should spend time with and engage with their kids at other times, and actually take them outside to play. I just think that shopping and road trips are appropriate times for tech use.
Road trips should have been included in my list (within reason). I too can recall "HE'S TOUCHING ME! HE'S BREATHING MY AIR!" after playing the cow/graveyard game for hours!

As far as shopping...your mother spent hours? That would be unbearable, especially if she didn't allow you to color/play in the buggy/self-entertain or interact with you. Shopping with my mom was always a preplanned, in-and-out as fast as she could go!

The Sam's Club kid should have been removed from the store by the parent(s)- no need in upsetting the other shoppers. Take them out until they calm down, then revisit the shopping. Not to mention, if she had just shoved an electronic at him, then he would start associating throwing a tantrum with getting screen time. Kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Whenever I hear a screaming kiddo, I always tell myself that I don't know their situation. He may have had special needs, may have been a foster child that was overstimulated, may have been hungry...self-regulation has to be learned, so the toddler/preschool years are always rough!
 

Willowy

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Oh, definitely, I know a screaming little kid is one whose needs aren't being met in some way. They went to the food court after and he calmed down after she fed him. And, sure, it would be ideal to have fed him before he screamed for an hour, but sometimes a parent HAS to finish the shopping or nobody will eat that week.
As far as shopping...your mother spent hours?
Not the shopping; she'd end up talking to someone and that's what would last hours (not necessarily with one person---half an hour with one person, 45 minutes with another, 15 minutes with another. . .it adds up). She still does it, but at least now I can refuse to go shopping with her, or wander off and do my own shopping. Some people are too polite to tell her they have to go, but I'm pretty sure they hate it too. She. . .probably has severe ADD. Never diagnosed but it's pretty obvious.
 
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MonaLyssa33

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I am just so annoyed when a series throws in a few new clips, gives it a new title and calls it a new show rather than what it is. - a rerun.
In their defense, a lot of shows do those clip shows because the studio execs decided to order up another episode or two in the series after the season was already planned out.
 

MonaLyssa33

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I hate a lot of the clothing that is trendy now. I'm sick of crop tops. I WANT THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE SHIRT PEOPLE!! I have a long torso, so every shirt is a crop top unless I buy it in the tall or maternity section, which I have been doing a lot lately.

Since I'm on dating apps, the top things that make me immediately say no to a guy are: all their pictures are mirror-selfies, they have a dead animal in their picture, they are smoking, they are making fake gang signs, they have a scraggly beard, they have long hair, they are flipping off the camera or doing something obscene, and they only have pictures of their chest.
 

Lari

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I hate a lot of the clothing that is trendy now. I'm sick of crop tops. I WANT THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE SHIRT PEOPLE!! I have a long torso, so every shirt is a crop top unless I buy it in the tall or maternity section, which I have been doing a lot lately.
Long torso here as well. I've found a few good long shirts, but at this point I basically just wear camisoles under everything, so I don't have to worry about accidentally showing my students my stomach. Which has been a problem in the past. :hide:
 

Willowy

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Ugh, yeah. I have no argument with actual crop tops (that someone may choose to wear knowingly), but normal shirts ought to be long enough to cover you. And they seem to be getting shorter. I don't know who's in charge of womens' clothing fashions but I'd like to tell them a few things.
 

marmoset

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Yep, the 90s are back.

I have a confession: I like man buns:paperbag:
Me too. But generally I don’t judge people on appearances. I am most attracted to people who are comfortable enough in their own skin to not put on visual airs.


My peeve- cellphones. I am gradually getting used to it but I think phones should be away in social settings. Last Christmas after the big meal everyone got on their phones. Even the elderfolk.
 

amysuen

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marmoset marmoset - My mom doesn't allow cell phones at family gatherings at her house, except to take photos.

ITA with cellphones/technology being too pervasive, especially with young children. I saw a child in the grocery store, maybe 3 years old, with a pacifier in her mouth and cellphone in her hand. :rolleyes2:
 

Norachan

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I can't understand why people want to take pictures of everything they eat and drink. And then upload them on Facebook or whatever. And then feel some how validated when anyone else likes or comments on the pictures.

I could understand if they'd baked a cake and decorated it themselves, but does anyone need to see pictures of the slice of avocado toast they made? Or the take-out coffee they bought?

:runaround:
 

Willowy

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I know! I can see posting pics if the barista made a cool picture in your cappuccino foam, or you got the fancy sushi boat, but nobody wants to look at your ham sandwich, lol.

I dunno about human decency being lesser these days. I can think of a lot of horrible things people did in every decade, things that aren't as socially acceptable now. Just new indecencies now, maybe?
 
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Mamanyt1953

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They can spend 8 hours on a cell phone but not 15 minutes in front of a mirror.......
SEE, SEE!!! IT'S THE CELL PHONES!

The word 'much' followed by a single word.
I have to admit that I VERY OCCASIONALLY use that, but it is so seldom that it is for emphasis!

I feel a reasonably intelligent person can express themselves without every other word being a swear word.
No doubt! When you swear ever other word, what is left for dire things, please? That said, my favorite "swear" word is "spit." And when I do drop an "f bomb" anyone who knows me knows that the word is WELL called-for!

And this not exactly a trend, but I hate the lack of good grammar in letters, texts, billboards, conversation - everywhere.
Grant me strength...My pettest peeve is hearing some character on a television show saying "Oh, that belongs to Mark and I." Me. MememememememeME! It belongs to Mark and ME! YOU ARE PROFESSIONAL WRITERS...THIS IS BASIC GRAMMER! You would never say, "It belongs to I." And I scream this at the television set.

I regard voting as almost sacred, since people fought and died so I could vote and that's still something that's going on today in some areas/for some people.
Yes. And since I live in a complex that is almost all elderly or disabled, 3 months before elections, I post a notice in the laundry room that I will print out absentee ballot requests, along with the instructions for completing them!
 

kashmir64

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My biggest beef besides rude behavior with cell phones is language. Call me ancient but I feel a reasonably intelligent person can express themselves without every other word being a swear word.
I have always taught my son that using swear words shows the world how stupid you are, because you can't find an intelligent word to go in it's place.
 

kashmir64

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I have to admit that I VERY OCCASIONALLY use that, but it is so seldom that it is for emphasis!
I didn't even realize I typed that completely wrong. It should have said following a single word.
Now I can say "articulate much" or "brain much" to myself. LOL
 

tarasgirl06

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Oh, for shame, Mamanyt1953 Mamanyt1953 *para 2, line 4* I assume you're not referring to Kelsey there. ;)
kashmir64 kashmir64 My dad used to say that profanity was the sign of an inadequate mind trying to express itself, inadequately. Of course, he wasn't too bad at swearing, having been in the Navy. My mom would say, "I know all the words, and I know what they mean" but she rarely swore. I am ashamed to say I have a potty mouth at times. But I do try to rein it in. :evilgrin:
As for my smartphone, it's the first thing I reach for after I log off the computer. But I don't walk around glued to it. Very often. Or very much. :crackup:
 
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