So here’s a simple question Chris: do you think the rise in popularity and use of social media has made people more or less courteous in how they communicate with other people?
I think that as times change the norms, mores and values of society change. Trying to work out with any certainty why these changes have happened is extremely difficult, and to identify one sole factor (eg social media) as the cause would be not something I would agree with.
And in any case I wouldn’t agree that it’s as simple as saying people are less courteous these days. In some ways people are far more courteous than they were in the past - the treatment of a gay couple holding hands in public is vastly different than it would have been 10, 20, 30 or more years ago.
Social media has certainly increased the amount of communication, which in itself is likely to have increased the amount of discourteous communication in total. It’s a new, interactive world - people are able to communicate with others more widely then ever before.
If the simple question you are asking is ‘has social media made people more discourteous through non-social media channels of communication?’ I would say no.
Have people always thought the younger generation was ruder than their own? I would say yes to that one.
I appreciate your thoughtful and well constructed response. I was not suggesting that younger people are less courteous per se, quite the opposite in fact. As an older person I am constantly impressed with the level of respect shown by the younger generation.
However, I do believe that social media-for all its benefits-has opened up a dark corner of our society that encourages people of all ages to be more abusive in their use of the written word.
Sadly, this sometimes spills over into the spoken word as well, hence my comments about the Aaron Piere incident.
The Aaron Pierre incident was an example of young men drunkenly acting like idiots near a football match. There were many worse examples of such behaviour in the 80s before the advent of social media than Mr Stokes. I’d take a few swear words (though far from ideal) over a culture of violence, even amongst a minority. When was the last time there was a genuine safety fear around a Wycombe game? It wasn’t always that way.
@Chris The behaviour of certain people at the end of the Port Vale away game last season, one of whose number I believed to be the aforementioned, could have quite easily led to a very unpleasant situation indeed if more people had taken offence.
Solihull I think, and while I agree that that behaviour (from the sounds of it - I didn’t see it despite being at that game) is not acceptable, the very fact it is so remarkable is the essence of the point I am making.
While things can always be improved, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact they are better than they have been before.
And to think all I wanted to know was if Adam was our greatest ‘zero to hero’, wasn’t expecting a social anthropology thesis (or two). Could we consider the thread closed?
oh dear Doctor, prioritising philosopher puns ahead of a conversation about drunken shouting? Definite case of putting Descartes ahead of the hoarse....
The interweb and social media did not create the abusive attitudes of some (across the age range) but have amplified it somewhat as people seem to think they need to comment on anything and everything at speed and without much thought. As for manners I'm sick of having to get out of the way of people not looking where they are going while they text or read and have stopped at least two people from being splatted on the road while having a conversation rather than watching the traffic. (Last one could be Darwin in action of course!!)
I wish I had the knowledge to join in this conversation. I'd like to present myself as a philosopher but frankly I'd be being a complete freud if I did. Full marx to everyone for their excellent puns, though.
Is it even possible to have a football discussion on here anymore without people changing it into something heating and completely irrelevant to the thread?
Comments
It definitely can if you can prove the existence of the parallel universe.
bravo @drcongo
So here’s a simple question Chris: do you think the rise in popularity and use of social media has made people more or less courteous in how they communicate with other people?
I think that as times change the norms, mores and values of society change. Trying to work out with any certainty why these changes have happened is extremely difficult, and to identify one sole factor (eg social media) as the cause would be not something I would agree with.
And in any case I wouldn’t agree that it’s as simple as saying people are less courteous these days. In some ways people are far more courteous than they were in the past - the treatment of a gay couple holding hands in public is vastly different than it would have been 10, 20, 30 or more years ago.
Social media has certainly increased the amount of communication, which in itself is likely to have increased the amount of discourteous communication in total. It’s a new, interactive world - people are able to communicate with others more widely then ever before.
If the simple question you are asking is ‘has social media made people more discourteous through non-social media channels of communication?’ I would say no.
Have people always thought the younger generation was ruder than their own? I would say yes to that one.
I appreciate your thoughtful and well constructed response. I was not suggesting that younger people are less courteous per se, quite the opposite in fact. As an older person I am constantly impressed with the level of respect shown by the younger generation.
However, I do believe that social media-for all its benefits-has opened up a dark corner of our society that encourages people of all ages to be more abusive in their use of the written word.
Sadly, this sometimes spills over into the spoken word as well, hence my comments about the Aaron Piere incident.
It’s certainly true that there are dark corners of social media - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_Override_(book) - but I do think it is a net positive for society.
The Aaron Pierre incident was an example of young men drunkenly acting like idiots near a football match. There were many worse examples of such behaviour in the 80s before the advent of social media than Mr Stokes. I’d take a few swear words (though far from ideal) over a culture of violence, even amongst a minority. When was the last time there was a genuine safety fear around a Wycombe game? It wasn’t always that way.
@Chris The behaviour of certain people at the end of the Port Vale away game last season, one of whose number I believed to be the aforementioned, could have quite easily led to a very unpleasant situation indeed if more people had taken offence.
Solihull I think, and while I agree that that behaviour (from the sounds of it - I didn’t see it despite being at that game) is not acceptable, the very fact it is so remarkable is the essence of the point I am making.
While things can always be improved, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact they are better than they have been before.
Not sure what happened at Solihull. I was there, but I didn't see anything untoward. Port Vale was totally uncalled for and offensive to many people.
This was the Solihull incident https://www.wycombewanderers.co.uk/news/2017/november/club-issues-banning-orders-to-two-supporters/
And to think all I wanted to know was if Adam was our greatest ‘zero to hero’, wasn’t expecting a social anthropology thesis (or two). Could we consider the thread closed?
I was hoping for a string of existentialist philosopher based puns. Kant win ‘em all.
Hell is other posters.
oh dear Doctor, prioritising philosopher puns ahead of a conversation about drunken shouting? Definite case of putting Descartes ahead of the hoarse....
The interweb and social media did not create the abusive attitudes of some (across the age range) but have amplified it somewhat as people seem to think they need to comment on anything and everything at speed and without much thought. As for manners I'm sick of having to get out of the way of people not looking where they are going while they text or read and have stopped at least two people from being splatted on the road while having a conversation rather than watching the traffic. (Last one could be Darwin in action of course!!)
I would join in, but I know Foucault about philosophy.
@drcongo Two Kant puns fitted into one thread? That's phenomenological! But there's a categorical imperative that you shouldn't do it again.
I wish I had the knowledge to join in this conversation. I'd like to present myself as a philosopher but frankly I'd be being a complete freud if I did. Full marx to everyone for their excellent puns, though.
@russ ‘ll be here soon with some more puns I’m sure.
Is it even possible to have a football discussion on here anymore without people changing it into something heating and completely irrelevant to the thread?
Luckily, no.
I agree @Bacon_Sandwich, some posters set out to Confucius all with this nonsense
Fret not, the thread is still Jung.
I’ll try to Russell something up.
I don’t find this remotely Humerous
We could always talk about the royal wedding instead. In nine months Harry’s tot’ll be born.
Existentialism? Don't get me Sartred........
Thank Godel for the Gasroom. I knew I could rely on you bunch of Burkes to get to de Botton of this. I've gone all Dewey eyed.
It was always going to end up as a pun thread. It was only a matter of time.
I cant quite decide whether we should seek to buy Aiderweirald from Tottenham.
Toby or not Toby - that is the question