Modern society is autistic?

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One very important point: video gaming is not a solitary pursuit.

The article is BS, and america is always an unusual one in these things, using american statistics to judge western society is using the war mongering hole of the west to judge the better parts.

Regardless of the referenced article, this is something that I believe strongly and it is an impression that has continually been hitting me squarely in the face again and again lately. I posted similar thoughts (and words) in another thread here (link below) but will repeat them here because it is such an applicable thought. When I grew up, people would actually talk to and interact with their neighbors who were treated as welcomed friends. These days people are increasingly living in an isolated world, shunning their neighbors who are treated as adversaries and treating them in this manner rather than reaching out to them as I still try to do, even though I am an Aspie. At least I try to reach out to people up to the point where they have hurt me too badly by their rejection and avoidance of me in favor of their own narrow range of interests. Does this sound familiar? It should because it is part of the DSM definition of autism.

I find that so many people these days are so cold, heartless, judgmental and selfish. It seems to be a downwardly spiraling progression of the 1980s generation that someone once coined as "The Me Generation". Perhaps the present generation should be designated as "The Autistic Generation". During my college days in 1968, there was an altruistic student movement going on for the betterment of mankind, which had as its motto the words "Give a Damn" (I think it was local to my own college, but this was typical of the times). Of course that was the 1960s when people truly did give a damn about others (Republicans, rednecks and klan excluded). These days it really does seem that nobody gives a damn about anything except themselves. When you stop to think that the semantics of the word autism carries the original meaning "of or pertaining to the self" (regardless of the narrower DSM definition), you begin to see that this increasingly isolated world really is the underlying essence of autism. Thus the world itself is becoming increasingly autistic while we as Aspies are trying increasingly to reach out to a world that no longer cares about anything but itself. Ask yourself how many times you see people outdoors these days doing anything except talking on a cellphone for better reception and thus insulating themselves from the larger population as a whole. Some might blame technology, but I think it is people's attitudes that are changing. They are becoming more autistic themselves and simply do not give a damn about others.

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp3690615.html#3690615

An interesting idea this......

That said I think this is far more complicated then either the blogger or most of us could grasp, but thats a risk one takes when trying to define millions or billions of people under one or two labels.....

I disagree with the blogger (Who contradicts himself as often as not, and sounds more like an older conservative lamenting the death of Main St. America in my mind, I can give quoted examples from what he wrote if anyone but asks as to what lead me to this belief), and the thought that Western Society is becoming "Autistic". My reasons for my disagreement are varied, but to start: Though people are giving up face to face interaction, the amount of online/virtual/verbal communication via computers and personal devices equates to more time being social with far more people then face to face time in small groups in parks ever could. I will agree its less in quality, but trying to describe society as being autistic simply because of that is like saying penguins are developing a disorder because they're spending more time in the water (When whats really going on is their Ice Bound home is melting...).

Further, just becuase people are spending more time on their computers doesn't mean that "they're focusing on their computers"..... Computers are in my mind a different breed of technology then pretty much anything that came before them, if only because, in the space of a single Monitor the amount of varied information possible to view is for the first time as encompassing as everyone in the world wants to make it, the speed at which its viewable is essentially instantaneous, and most importantly changes at as little as a button press...... Whats more important to note about computer use isn't the fact that people are on computers, but rather what they're DOING on their computers.... Not everyone blogs, not everyone uses at as a daily planner, not every one plays games, not everyone masturbates..... And assuming that everyone that uses a computer uses the computer in the same manner and as such share an addiction to said "computer" with all other computer users is delusional and down right ignorant.....

I agree that people are more distant in personal atmospheres then they used to be. But think about it this way (And Ill use an analogy thats already been presented here to boot): 50 Years ago, you spent alot of time at one bowling alley..... You had friends there, shared experiences, wins, losses, to the point where you invited these people into your home and life and shared with them..... Sometimes youd meet people from another bowling alley from accross town, and they were the enemy because they were trying to beat your team, but afterwards at the least you all shared a sport. Finally tack in the non-bowlers, all those smarmy park goers and tree huggers and DYI people that have never set foot in a bowling alley and don't understand what it was like to beat the towns other bowling team that night 2 years ago or the party you had afterwards. You accept them as people, but know they'll never share that part of your life and there for don't really make a point of inviting them to understand that part unless they ask out of fear that they might not want to understand and there by invalidate some part of your experience....... NOW, if we can understand all of this in our analogy..... Replace the word "Bowling Alley" with "Game".... or "Blog"...... or Any modern virtual Gathering place...... And think about the ramifications to the analogy as a result..... People like the people they've chosen to be with best. So if they spend more time with people online, chances are they're going to be more friendly with those people then people in the real world...... The point Im making is that, Humans IMHO really haven't changed that much, we've just moved from a Real Life meeting place with Local Friends and Entertainment, to a Virtual Meeting place with Global friends and entertainment...... Main Street America is dying and almost dead (Though not really, because like all past trends with say ~150 years of present date there will be people that remember it and seek to recreate it), but Mainstreet.com is flourishing...... And yes, a side result seems to be chosen ignorance and lack of care for real people in close proximity vs those they know and keep up with online.......

Finally. I agree with whats been said that society is evolving (As evidenced in the above Paragraph). It always has been and always will.... Life evolves and adapts (Even if this isn't always a purely biological practice) and humans are no exception..... New things are on the scene that are causing this, and old things are appearing less, but that doesn't mean its neccissarily bad. If you think about all the possible reasons we could be evolving (Natural disasters on global scale for instance), choosing to embrace something like this is far far preferable IMHO then being forced into it by some force of nature or politics...... There are problems, but people will overcome the ones that really stand in the way of what they want to do. Probably the thing I would suggest to people that are unhappy with the way things are? Be the change you wish to see in the world......

Thanks for reading if you did.