Technology in all of its forms – social networks, smartphones, the Web, instant messaging, on-line gaming – is a net loss for today\u2019s young people. At least according to one group of Silicon Valley 8th graders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s bad for us, but it sure is fun,\u201d\u009d says Eric Bautista, 13, one of the students in Sister Jolene Schmitz\u2019s junior high school class at Resurrection School in Sunnyvale, California.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, this informal survey offers, at best, only anecdotal evidence. Still, it is pretty shocking that a group of young teenagers, all of them technologically very astute, and living in the very heart of Silicon Valley, would come to such a conclusion.<\/p>\n
These kids, born about the time the Internet became widely adopted, live within blocks of where the Intel microprocessor, the Apple computer and the Atari video game were all invented. They spend their days (and nights) surfing the web, playing on-line games and instant messaging. Most have cell phones in their backpacks. And many have at least one parent who works in the electronics industry.<\/p>\n