Most definitely - the article does make some reasonable (and reasoned points), but largely it is tapping into the usual moral panics around childhood, technology and particularly the intersection of the two. On tracing things back through history - I used to use a set of quotes that showed how each generation complained about new technologies (bark, slates, quills, ball-point pens etc.) ruining the writing skills of a new generation of youths… until I found out the whole set was made up, as detailed in various blogs & articles: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/04/21/students-bark/ Still, no smoke without fire, right? Best, Johnny. Dr J W Unger Lecturer and Academic Director of Summer Programmes Department of Linguistics and English Language Lancaster University LA1 4YL e-mail: j.unger@lancaster.ac.uk<mailto:j.unger@lancaster.ac.uk> tel: +44 1524 592591<tel:+44%201524%20592591> Follow me on Twitter @johnnyunger<http://twitter.com/#!/johnnyunger> On 26 Aug 2017, 14:41 +0100, Barry Wellman <wellman@chass.utoronto.ca>, wrote: Re Galen Panger's comment on the list: "I actually thought the article was hyperbolic, and I felt disappointed to see it get so much attention. I think there is reason for some concern, I would have liked to see the evidence presented less selectively and one-sidedly." Heartedly agree. Keith Hampton and I have an article asserting that each generation thinks that community has been lost as compared to the previous one. Now, it is mobile phones. Two decades ago, it was the internet. You can keep tracing this back to Tommy Jefferson in 1787. And perhaps further. Barry Wellman A vision is just a vision if it's only in your head Step by step, link by link, putting it together Streisand/Sondheim _______________________________________________________________________ NetLab Network FRSC INSNA Founder http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman twitter: @barrywellman NETWORKED: The New Social Operating System Lee Rainie & Barry Wellman http://amzn.to/zXZg39 _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/