Sounds like a Harry Potter movie doesn’t it? Today an article was posted that quoted Rick Pitino, the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals Basketball Team, as saying that social media poisons the minds of his student athletes, and most people in general.
As quoted from the article linked above:
I think technology is a great thing in many instances, and I think it’s poison in others, and for people in sports especially.
He goes on to explain how social media and technology have created a environment where kids and athletes specifically are having a harder time communicating in real life because of their dependence on using social media and technology to communicate with one another.
It’s an interesting argument, and on some levels, I can certainly agree with some of his points. However, just like anything in life, times change and so do our ways of life. Technology advances create new ways for us to live our lives. Whether it’s how we drive our cars, prepare our food, or communicate with each other, change is the only constant. Social media is not to blame for a person’s inability to hold a real conversation with someone. That’s called bad parenting and/or bad schooling.
I have 2 young boys who LOVE their technology, and I enjoy sharing those experiences with them. But I make sure that like anything in life, it’s experienced in moderation. Blaming technology or social media for society faults is a cop out. Yes, of course our lives can be transformed regardless of how much balance we try to incorporate in our children’s lives, but there’s no escaping that. Life changes. How we communicate with each will continue to evolve, and it’s up to us to continue to reinforce the importance of still having real world communication skills.
Sorry Rick, while I agree with your analysis of the symptoms, social media is not the disease.
What do you think?
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