Before taking this class I had a sneaking prejudice that things like Facebook were making kids unable to pay attention to things. When I tried working on assignments with Pandora blaring and Facebook at the edge of my vision occupying part of my mental space, I felt distracted and like I was not giving my work 100%. Aha! this is what teenagers are like! No wonder they can't stick to anything long enough to find meaning!
But wait. Here I am, a mere two weeks out from FB birth, and already I am bored by it and can't be bothered to log in and figure out who's saying what. Maybe it was the flu that I survived this past weekend and week. Maybe I'm just not social enough. Maybe I am just an old curmudgeon. Maybe I don't care enough about what is happening in Farmville - or even understand why anyone would.
Or - maybe it's us old folks who can't keep up with this stuff and stick to it. Hmmmm. I actually have a newfound respect for the people, young and old, who can mange to schedule this piece of humanity into their day.
Kind of a Grinch like moment.
I don't know if I agree that it is age or the digital native thing, but you definitely have a point about the shelf-life of facebook excitement. I think it has to do with your sense of community. If you have a friend base that uses facebook a lot, you probably will. But if you are not that invested in what others are putting up, you won't be compelled to invest to much time in it. I get kind of embarrassed when I go on (to spy on my son or look at friends' kids' pictures) and notice that my status hasn't been updated for weeks...
ReplyDeleteBut I have a huge number of family members (whom I love) and friends (also love) who are on all the time. Maybe I'm just lazy and apathetic. But my students are diligent!
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