Old Wisdom, Young Foolinsness.

Despite your being a CIA disinfo agent, I always appreciate the thoughtfulness and curiosity with which you approach viewpoints other than your own.

I assume here that you’re (probably) joking? (Around 90%) 

With pleasure. Despite your being a CIA disinfo agent, I always appreciate the thoughtfulness and curiosity with which you approach viewpoints other than your own.

Okay, I'm generalising, but here we go: less input, more imagination, a less compressed sense of time, a more incarnate world, a more incarnate setting for creativity, more one-to-one communication, making do with less raw material for play, making your own amusements, the art of boredom, disappearing into a world of your own creation, being forced out into the world to find adventure..... 

Again, I'm generalising, and I'm not saying these things don't happen anymore, but you get the idea, right? 

I have also noticed that the 'infinity scroll' nature of current media consumption is leading to a slight sense of jadedness in some of our young 'uns.

Additionally, as a culture, we are increasingly estranged from the natural world. We are moving further and further into the grip of an abstraction, an electronic and psychically terraforming dream.

There seems to be a fair bit of evidence that generational concerns such as those you raised have been omnipresent since at least the 20th century and perhaps for many centuries prior.

Newspapers, paperback books, radio, television, movies, recreational drugs, sports, hobbies.  There's a litany of items that parents have worried about as it relates to how their children are developing, spending time, and learning.

The 'estranged from the natural world' concern dates back at least decades.  That's one I've heard (and said for that matter!) for years and years.

Having said all that, maybe this digitally connected world is truly different; an actual threat.  For me, the jury's still out.  After all, we've seemed to weather all kinds of technological advancement as a species.

I assume here that you’re (probably) joking? (Around 90%) 

Which part are you assuming is the joke?  Me being a CIA disinformation agent or me being throughful and curious?

There seems to be a fair bit of evidence that generational concerns such as those you raised have been omnipresent since at least the 20th century and perhaps for many centuries prior.

Newspapers, paperback books, radio, television, movies, recreational drugs, sports, hobbies.  There's a litany of items that parents have worried about as it relates to how their children are developing, spending time, and learning.

The 'estranged from the natural world' concern dates back at least decades.  That's one I've heard (and said for that matter!) for years and years.

Having said all that, maybe this digitally connected world is truly different; an actual threat.  For me, the jury's still out.  After all, we've seemed to weather all kinds of technological advancement as a species.

Indeed. The digital revolution is but the latest salvo in a long running process of abstraction and mediation. The gyre of history moves more slowly than a single human lifetime can properly record.

I just realised: That CIA agent joke would make absolutely no sense if someone hadn't been hanging around the Skeptiko forum lately. Oh well.

There seems to be a fair bit of evidence that generational concerns such as those you raised have been omnipresent since at least the 20th century and perhaps for many centuries prior.

Newspapers, paperback books, radio, television, movies, recreational drugs, sports, hobbies.  There's a litany of items that parents have worried about as it relates to how their children are developing, spending time, and learning.

The 'estranged from the natural world' concern dates back at least decades.  That's one I've heard (and said for that matter!) for years and years.

Having said all that, maybe this digitally connected world is truly different; an actual threat.  For me, the jury's still out.  After all, we've seemed to weather all kinds of technological advancement as a species.

It seems we as humans create problems for ourselves. Every time we make a technological breakthrough there seems to be some downside that may be our demise which we never considered - at least not enough to seriously contemplate the ramifications to the environment, economic and social structures which we depend on for our survival.
There doesn't appear to be any adequate oversight on the effect of the mandated belief in "progress". The same social/political hegemonic structures seem to co-opt much of the benefit and power derived from technological developments. 

"Having said all that, maybe this digitally connected world is truly different; an actual threat. For me, the jury's still
 out.  After all, we've seemed to weather all kinds of technological advancement as a species."
Barely!

Many of us seem to think technology will save us from the mess we've made of the environment. It seems it would be easier to stop messing it up than to fix it yet yet there seems to be a resignation in that regard or denial. 
The thing I find most disturbing at present is how polarized we are and how much reality has become politicized.

Its an interesting topic.

I think Larry brings up an interesting point on the, seemingly at least, lack of purposefulness in "progress".  Feels almost more designless, dare I say neo-Darwinian in that aspect?  Random mutations (inherently purposeless) are retained when they increase fitness is similar to human progress (certainly in more mundane things like technology) are retained when they increase commerce (at least for western societies?).

What's the grand plan?  Where's the watchmaker?  I don't see any human, individual or group, acting in this capacity.

Its an interesting topic.

I think Larry brings up an interesting point on the, seemingly at least, lack of purposefulness in "progress".  Feels almost more designless, dare I say neo-Darwinian in that aspect?  Random mutations (inherently purposeless) are retained when they increase fitness is similar to human progress (certainly in more mundane things like technology) are retained when they increase commerce (at least for western societies?).

What's the grand plan?  Where's the watchmaker?  I don't see any human, individual or group, acting in this capacity.

It seems nature as a whole if we exclude humans maintains a kind of balance which keeps the living environment in tact to where species can adapt to the changes and cycles that occur. It's almost like the "fine tuning" is always happening in the natural world. When you consider the level of complexity of every organism and their interconnectedness it seems a stretch to attribute it to ns/rm. It appears that nature is demanding we spiritually evolve
or perish. It's hard to tell if we are evolving or developing socially/spiritually at a rate where we are willing to address our problems on a large enough collective scale to make a difference.
Sorry I am generally not this pessimistic.