We agree with one another that there are good things and bad things about social media and the internet in general. If your initial assertion ended there, we wouldn't be on page 3 right now. But you went further by implying that there was a statistically significant change in crime after the internet came about. We spent the next few pages going back and forth about why one or the other was wrong. If you're not trying to convince anyone of anything, then why keep this up for so long? Surely a single post on the 1st page would have sufficed to tell us your opinion. Then you could have, you know, moved on.

it's that I disagree with extrapolating that to an entire generation of people and linking that to a significant change in social abilities between people.

Hey ding dong, you keep arguing in absolutes

There is a generation of people with that mindset.

It's generational.

The young people today are far worse, sorry.

Eraser, do you have kids? If so, how old?

I have a teenager and I can tell you there is a distinct difference in the way kids/teens socialize now compared to as recent as 10 years ago. They don't want to go out and hang with their friends. They don't want drivers licenses and the associated freedoms. They don't want a job to earn their own money. They are happy being lost in their telephones, Netflix or gaming console. They'd rather "Snap" photos and text over actual conversations. It's this kind of self segregation that is rendering our youth incapable of dealing with challenges or even thinking they have to.

The young people today are far worse, sorry.

Seems like that's exactly what you're saying Gwamps, so which is it? First it was all young people can't deal with it then it was not everyone etc...

Like I said, it isn't technology that's the problem, it's the people. You are clearly blaming phones, netflix and gaming consoles in that quote but not the parents or education which is where I think the problem lies.

So how do you know, SOME, people are being affected negatively? How do you know that there's any more than before phones, netflix and video games?

Come on now Gramps, you're just doing semantic nitpicking here and you know it. But I can play that game too. When I said "an entire generation" I obviously referred to the traits that defined a generation. Not each and every individual that made that generation.

But so far you're doing a nice sidestep to avoid the discussion at hand. You still claim there's an obvious change in social skills in youth but fail to provide any substantian, non-subjective proof for it.

And you know otherwise, how?

It's not semantics or side steps. I'm offering a generalized opinion on a social problem that I've personally witnessed and what I believe is the cause.

Your argument has been completely dismissive and has come with zero "proof" as well.

So who's wrong here? I'm going to say no one.

Yes. On the surface it appears to show that kids are choosing technology over culture/history/art. However, they could all be on a museum app getting additional information about the picture. It really doesn't offer much to support or negate my point.

I don't think I have a bias toward technology.

I don't think anyone has a problem with that when you're not generalizing. It's when you throw out terms like generations and young people etc... That's the problem. Also, insulting the people that are just discussing something with you doesn't help either.

Kearney and the research team set up two studies, one long-term and one short-term, to test the theory. The first study, which followed the social media use of individuals from 2009 to 2011, found that change in social media use was not associated with changes in direct social contact. In addition, the participants' feelings of social well-being actually increased.