A poorly researched diatribe on the youth of today, Susan Greenfields exploration of Mind Change reads like a Littlejohn column wrapped in the trappings of science
12 February 2009. In the House of Lords chamber at the Palace of Westminster, Lord Harris of Haringey holds the floor. My noble friend had some unfortunate experiences when he placed his profile on Facebook a couple of years ago, he explains, receiving what the Sunday Times describes as an avalanche of suggestive comments of the Hello, sailor variety.
In a survey of US youth aged between 10 and 19, gamers spent 30% less time reading and 34% less time doing homework. Granted, it is hard to separate the chicken from the egg: perhaps children who perform more poorly at school are likely to spend more time playing games, which may give them a sense of mastery that eludes them in the classroom. We need to go beyond correlation to cause: but what we cant do is just ignore the problem altogether.
It is precisely what might now be happening. Kidscape, a British charity that helps prevent bullying and protects children, conducted a survey in which they assessed young peoples cyber lives through an online questionnaire. Of the 2,300 or so respondents one in two say they lie about their personal details on the internet. Of those, the one in eight young people who speak to strangers online are the most likely not to tell the truth, with 60% lying about their age and 40% about their personal relationships.
The teens lied about what they spent their allowances on, and whether theyd started dating, and what clothes they put on away from the house. They lied about what movie they went to, and whom they went with. They lied about alcohol and drug use, and they lied about whether they were hanging out with friends their parents disapproved of. They lied about how they spent their afternoons while their parents were at work. They lied about whether chaperones were in attendance at a party or whether they rode in cars driven by drunken teens.
A cause has to precede its effect. This test of causality fails in two regards. First, demographically the rise in autism diagnoses occurred well before internet use became widespread. Second, in individuals: autism is typically evident by two years of age, long before children become avid users of Twitter or Facebook. You also seem unaware of the large literature discussing possible causes of the increase in autism diagnoses, most of which concludes that most, if not all, of the increase is down to changes in diagnostic criteria.
You may not realise just how much illogical garbage and ill-formed speculation parents of children with these conditions are exposed to. Over the years, theyve been told that their childrens problems are caused by their cold style of interaction, inoculations, dental amalgams, faulty diets, allergies, drinking in pregnancy the list is endless. Now we can add to this list internet use.
Its very unhelpful to have any suggestion that computers might have a harmful role when so many people with autism, and who are very socially isolated, find they can communicate through email and the internet.
If a scientist sidesteps their scientific peers, and chooses to take an apparently changeable, frightening, and technical scientific case directly to the public, then that is a deliberate decision, and one that cant realistically go unnoticed. The lay public might find your case superficially appealing, but they may not be fully able to judge the merits of all your technical evidence.
I think these serious scientific concerns belong, at least once, in a clear scientific paper. I dont see how this suggestion is inappropriate, or impudent, and in all seriousness, I cant see an argument against it.
Fred was already loosening the Helmet strap with the other hand that wasnt angling my chin, Sim begins. Asked by Fred to remove her dress thing, Sim then explains, It was still stranger now to step outside of my garment. I only did so in the wash-waste, and never outside. Then they have sex, at which point Fred realises that Sim may not actually know what sex is, which carries the awkward and tragically unexplored implication that Fred is actually a rapist. Sim, asks Fred, do you know what weve just done? I think so. I think the Fact-Totum says its what people used to do before the reproduction programs made everything so much easier.
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