Aug 11 2011: I see some of the predominant male-ness of online social communities declining when looking at the big social media sites, Facebook, Google+, Twitter. These are social settings that have drawn both sexes into their fold, but there is still a reluctance on the part of some women to be 'out' as women in these venues, precisely because it can decreases the equality of intellect in those venues.
I would suggest that you have yet to meet a person who prefers the online to the physical because you're not looking in the proper social circles.
One thought that I have is that the decline in educational performance of men can be related to online engagement, be it in entertainment, or social interaction. I don't know however if pulling men away from their online environment is the complete solution. The problem, I think, is one of what content and interaction is available online. If there were a richer environment to explore online perhaps young men would be exposed to more than content that is directed at them.
I think one way to pull people, not just men, from online reclusion into the physical world is by building communities online that materialize in the physical world. I think Nerdtacular (http://nerdtacular.com/) is a good example of this. There is an online community that manifests into several physical encounters throughout the year.
As for children, they already are forming relationships online via social media and texting connections. They don't see it anymore unusual that the previous generation did talking on the phone. I think there does need to be something to reengage boys into the physical world, but to do so at the expense of the online risks rolling back some of the progress made by enabeling the reach of the online and the removal of social pressures inherent to the medium.
Aug 11 2011: I think there are several issues here.
Society has become more distant in general since the dawn of the current technology revolution. The need for social interaction for the average person is very low compared to what it was thirty years ago. There are more options for individual entertainment and activity then there have been for most of human history.
Online society, via games, internet and social media has been more geared towards men, and there may be gender social dynamics that exacerbate this. Men aren't disappearing, they're moving from the physical world to the virtual one for social interaction. It seems that women aren't moving to this new social environment as quickly, and so perceive a decline in male interaction in their social life.
The challenge for women is to venture into this new environment and interact with men. In many ways I feel that this is a success of the feminist movement. Online you are your mind, not your body. If women are finding it difficult to engage with men in a non-physical environment then what does that say about the calls for equality and the deobjectification of women?
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A reply on Conversation: Is the "demise of guys" a harbinger for the demise of human development?
I would suggest that you have yet to meet a person who prefers the online to the physical because you're not looking in the proper social circles.
One thought that I have is that the decline in educational performance of men can be related to online engagement, be it in entertainment, or social interaction. I don't know however if pulling men away from their online environment is the complete solution. The problem, I think, is one of what content and interaction is available online. If there were a richer environment to explore online perhaps young men would be exposed to more than content that is directed at them.
I think one way to pull people, not just men, from online reclusion into the physical world is by building communities online that materialize in the physical world. I think Nerdtacular (http://nerdtacular.com/) is a good example of this. There is an online community that manifests into several physical encounters throughout the year.
As for children, they already are forming relationships online via social media and texting connections. They don't see it anymore unusual that the previous generation did talking on the phone. I think there does need to be something to reengage boys into the physical world, but to do so at the expense of the online risks rolling back some of the progress made by enabeling the reach of the online and the removal of social pressures inherent to the medium.
A comment on Conversation: Is the "demise of guys" a harbinger for the demise of human development?
Society has become more distant in general since the dawn of the current technology revolution. The need for social interaction for the average person is very low compared to what it was thirty years ago. There are more options for individual entertainment and activity then there have been for most of human history.
Online society, via games, internet and social media has been more geared towards men, and there may be gender social dynamics that exacerbate this. Men aren't disappearing, they're moving from the physical world to the virtual one for social interaction. It seems that women aren't moving to this new social environment as quickly, and so perceive a decline in male interaction in their social life.
The challenge for women is to venture into this new environment and interact with men. In many ways I feel that this is a success of the feminist movement. Online you are your mind, not your body. If women are finding it difficult to engage with men in a non-physical environment then what does that say about the calls for equality and the deobjectification of women?