<story><title>Stop Googling. Let’s Talk</title><url>http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/stop-googling-lets-talk.html?mwrsm=LinkedIn&amp;_r=0</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>sandworm101</author><text>&amp;gt; 89 percent of cellphone owners said they had used their phones during the last social gathering they attended.&lt;p&gt;Right there is where the author looses me.  That online collaboration via the phone IS a social gathering unto itself.  One is not fundamentally different than the other.  Physical proximity is great, but it is a serious limitation.  Not everyone has the time&amp;#x2F;money to physically meet their friends over coffee every twenty minutes.  Not everyone lives in downtown Boston or NY.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; They say it’s a skill they mastered in middle school when they wanted to text in class without getting caught.&lt;p&gt;And why do kids text so much at school?  Because they are bored to death by mind-numbing subjects and teaching that doesn&amp;#x27;t actually teach.  Texting is the symptom, not the disease.&lt;p&gt;The ability to &amp;#x27;not get caught&amp;#x27; while communicating with others is a valuable skill for nearly everyone these days.  It should be encouraged.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>andrepd</author><text>&amp;gt;That online collaboration via the phone IS a social gathering unto itself.&lt;p&gt;Still the fact is that it is inconsiderate, or plain rude, to be &amp;quot;somewhere else&amp;quot; when you are sitting with other people who all took the time to physically be with each other. If a few people get together and spend large amounts of their time on their phones, then why get together at all?</text></comment>
<story><title>Stop Googling. Let’s Talk</title><url>http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/stop-googling-lets-talk.html?mwrsm=LinkedIn&amp;_r=0</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>sandworm101</author><text>&amp;gt; 89 percent of cellphone owners said they had used their phones during the last social gathering they attended.&lt;p&gt;Right there is where the author looses me.  That online collaboration via the phone IS a social gathering unto itself.  One is not fundamentally different than the other.  Physical proximity is great, but it is a serious limitation.  Not everyone has the time&amp;#x2F;money to physically meet their friends over coffee every twenty minutes.  Not everyone lives in downtown Boston or NY.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; They say it’s a skill they mastered in middle school when they wanted to text in class without getting caught.&lt;p&gt;And why do kids text so much at school?  Because they are bored to death by mind-numbing subjects and teaching that doesn&amp;#x27;t actually teach.  Texting is the symptom, not the disease.&lt;p&gt;The ability to &amp;#x27;not get caught&amp;#x27; while communicating with others is a valuable skill for nearly everyone these days.  It should be encouraged.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>shas3</author><text>&amp;gt; And why do kids text so much at school? Because they are bored to death by mind-numbing subjects and teaching that doesn&amp;#x27;t actually teach. Texting is the symptom, not the disease.&lt;p&gt;Actually there is plenty of evidence that texting and social media offer a similar kick as several other addictions like smoking, etc. it&amp;#x27;s akin to blaming teenage smoking on boring classes. Further, the teenage mind is susceptible to getting easily bored and to addiction.</text></comment>