Last weekend, I was at a USS swim meet and heard parents and coaches complaining about the "distraction" of many swimmers now. They blame this distraction (in addition to the rise of the boy/girl crazy period) on the advent of cell phones and IM-ing, etc. Apparently, at meets, and I've seen it, the kids spent scads of time on their cells phones, phoning friends, phoning kids across the pool, texting constantly (even to kids 5 feet away). Then they go home and IM for hours, checking and gossiping over the instant meet results and who beat who. Now, all the swimmers seem to know each other because, even if they're not on the same team or live in different states, they now can communicate easily via IM-ing and texting. I heard one coach say he's not sure how to get his swim kids to focus in this new techo-age. Obviously, some kids are focused like lasers, but I see an abundance of chatting and cell phone use too. Would kids do better without cell phones at meets? And is technology distracting them? Some seem to be swimming blazingly fast, but are others not swimming up to their potential because of this?
to your original question, Leslie, I'm not sure that the whole texting phenom at meets is a really big deal... I recall playing tag, eating hot dogs, checking out boys at USS meets... there was always distraction, just maybe not the electronic variety. and as you know, summer league meets are infinitely worse than USS meets for screwing around instead of focusing
on the bright side, other than tiring their thumbs out, at least the kids are physically resting, ya know?
Maybe not. But I think they still do all of the above, plus text and call people. I don't think any of this takes place sitting down. I rarely see kids sitting down at meets. At least not mine. I guess she's got it bad. She's certainly got the boy crazy thing bad. They all need to have fun at their meets, to be sure. But I hate seeing kids (always girls) crying after races. You wonder whether some of that is inadequate preparation.
I agree with that Kirk. But old dogs can learn new tricks.
Technology proficiency can be intimidating for those unfamiliar with it. Yet it's fairly simple at the end of the day.
Being tech savvy is matter of being immersed in it fairly regularly. We can be as resourceful...and just as fast as the next generation.
...maybe not in the pool however.
The news anchors on our local station were commenting today about rock concerts...then and now.
Back then the audience held up lighters and candles. These days they all wave cell phones.
Things certainly have changed.
Yes, we can blame two things for this:
Motorolla ran a commercial a years ago where their phones lit up the SD Charger's stadium during a power outage.
Some of these indoor venues, at least where I am, do not permit smoking in their arenas. No smoking = no lighter brought to concert.
For U2's vertigo tour, Bono had everyone pull out their cell phone at one point, before he got us all to text something to join the One campaign. The arena looked awesome with all those lights.
:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:
OK, I will stop laughing now. You obviously have never coached Junior High girls. Pay attention to what's going on?:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2: Only if there is a cute boy in the vicinity.
No, but I have coached 9 and 10 year olds and made them run laps for not paying attnetion. I'm a hardass though. :agree:
Either way my kid won't have a phone on the field, on the deck or in the movie theatre. Problem solved, but I choose to do this as a parent.
I agree Dorothy about the security but like slowswim said the limited number phones are a good idea.
I'm tough on my kids to a point. I don't care what the lovey-dovey brigade think about it (not saying you are a lovey dovey type either).
But Keith Richards looks just as wasted. Some things don't change.
Gull can we get your professional opinion? lol
:whiteflag:' liver
:help: ' other liver
Our 11 year old was wasting huge amounts of time doing the text thing with all of her class mates.
It's remarkable that the primary digit for kids under twenty has become the thumb rather than the index finger.
I usually take no gadgets to the deck at meets (barring my cell in case I need to call out or something) but I always seem to get distracted...
I'm sorry I look so good, but I can't help it.
Yep I coached them at 9 and 10, but something happens in Junior high, and yes I make them run laps, me right with them.....and still no concentration.
I am about ready to leave for a game. I know from past history this will be the hardest game of the season for concentration. School got out today, and they will all be flibber-d-digits. Even the most serious lose their minds on the last day of school. But the other team is dealing with the same thing, so no mind. There are some days I really worry one of them is going to get hurt, and I hound them about making sure they are awake when a batter is up.
I made my daughter swim practice tonight to get some of the silliness out. I need her playing a good game, because she often sets the tone(often the most silly of them all. One game teaching all the girls the dance moves to Thriller,:shakeshead:)
Batter? Ah see there's your problem. You've got them sitting around in a dugout half the game... ;)
I can't control other people's children only my own...somewhat...my kids know I will not be happy if I am there on a Saturday watching their game and they are texting...I've already had it out with my 9 year old about not making an effort. Not as skilled; I can tolerate and encourage practice...not running or trying; I can't deal with.
I noticed that (S)he-man is living without a cell phone. It can be done. Not sure young kids need them either. Why? I can see why they would be a distraction at meets.
I've heard parents complain about it with respect to homework too. Kids do homework with itunes in the background and their phone on the desk beeping with text messages every few minutes.
Hey Fortress. Wish I could help you on your initial question, but as I don't have kids. . . However, I do remember telling hubby to "shoot me" if we ever had a kid and I gave him/ her a cell phone as a pre-teen or tween.
Funny story on why I opted for no cell phone. Other than the bills being outrageous for minimal and often unacceptable service (and I've had about 5 providers over the years). . . I digress. I was the VP of HR for 10 years at an IT consulting company. So, I was often on call 24/7 and had many, many ways for people to get in touch with me whether it be multiple land lines, cell, blackberry, email, fax, or pager. All my colleagues and I were always "multi-tasking" so to speak. Whenever we were in officer meetings, it was rare for any one of us to be focused on the item at hand. We all had our laptops and were constantly emailing and such. What I noticed was that every day the spouses of my colleages would continually interrupt meetings via cell phone to discuss (and rather, from what it sounded like :argue:) the most petty items. Drove me nuts and wasted countless hours. I did not want to do that to my hubby. So - no cell. No whining. There came a point for me when time was my most precious resource and being less accessible seemed like a luxury.
Hubby is the Director of Animation at a feature film co in Atlanta. Also, no cell. We do fine. If we don't respond, we just don't want to talk to you. :rofl:
Gotta pick and choose when there's so much excess whether it be gadgets, food, travel, clothing, cars, STUFF!
Kids will always have distrations. They have more things to choose from now. If they bomb a meet due to being distracted, hopefully, they'll figure that out and make adjustments next time. Okay, wishfull thinking here. . .
