Suzie asks some important questions concerning this report on young people's ethics. It doesn't surprise me at all that more boys than girls believe that lying and cheating are necessary for success in life. Now, I'm not one to bemoan Those Kids Today, as I've been doing some reading on 18thc politics and know we've got a long way to go before we hit rock bottom. But I do think that another point that should be raised re: this endemic of cheating and lying is that politics have far reaching consequences, and to me that is reflected in the survey. If the President and high elected officials lie like rugs and no one calls them on it, why shouldn't young people take that as a model and example?
Personally, I've come to understand that educators must take real care, and guard against cheating and lying, when it comes to teens today. There's a certain culture that crosses races and income levels, which lauds those teens who are able to 'get away with it,' whatever it may be. Again, I don't think this is too different than when I was a teen, or before that, but I think that teens who adopt this aesthetic will carry it on into adulthood, unless some authority in their lives teaches them that there are serious consequences.
It will be interesting, as the coming population wave assumes political and cultural power, in the many battles in which we find ourselves engaged today. People who don't believe that lying and cheating are great evils to be avoided will be more or less likely oppose gay marriage? More or less likely to believe that our nation should be engaged in wars of choice? More or less concerned with government spying? More or less tolerant of "the war on drugs?" I don't know the answer to any of that, but I suspect the political scene will be different, when this generation begins to exhibit its peak influence.
I think of this as one of those "what comes around, goes around" sort of things. Republicans have enshrined lying and cheating as legitimate forms of public behavior, and Democrats have failed to oppose that in a significant way. Soon, we'll get to find out just what it's like when a large portion of the population shares those beliefs. Short form: if the rubes don't follow the rules set up for them, it's a lot harder to suck up obscene profits from their enslavement.
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Cheating
As an educator, I find myself compelled to rely more and more on timed essay responses in class, and less and less on take home or "research" papers (whatever the hell that means, nowadays). Of course, the reason is that so many cheating resources are available online, and there seems less and less value to serious, in-depth work. It's sad. We live in a cut and paste society. It's all about surface.
I will go further, at the risk of being accused of sweeping generalizations: it's the young Republicans, the budding free market capitalists who generally are the worst offenders. When caught cheating and plagiarizing, dead to rights, the typical response is bluster and blow back - rarely shame. We live in litigious times. It's true that "Republicans have enshrined lying and cheating as legitimate forms of public behavior", and it's also true that many, if not most students regard cheating as a legitimate strategy to succeed.
Yet another Republican legacy is a diminished sense of the importance of education per se. It's all about the credentials, and whatever it takes to get the degree is merely a means towards an end. Give me my degree and then show me the money, but for God's sake don't ask me to learn anything new.
downstreamer
that's pretty much my take, flotsam
so few of the young people i work with have any sort of interest in learning for its own sake. i treasure those kids and give them as much attention as possible, when i do come across them. as for the rest, i can only hope that they will discover an interest later in life. that does happen, in some cases.
"Moat" Generation?
This article describes the new generation coming after the 9/11 generation (The Millenials) as The Moat Generation, as in they are building a moat around themselves.
I don't interact enough with young people to know what they are like.
I'm a crusty, old fart.
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I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me.
And there is that "lying" thing again.
Almost exactly as you relate it, but with gratuitous Clinton backhand:
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I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me.
Why boys more than girls?
Video games.
This is not an exaggeration. Boys love these games, whether handheld, on a game system, or online. And in order to be the best - you must get the cheat codes. If you don't use them, you'll always be behind the pack and second rate. That's the way they are designed. Cheating is designed as the preferred way to excel. Lying, stealing, and killing are also great.
Why would anyone assume that at least some of this attitude will not be carried into real life with them, after hours of playing? Cheating is a minor sin compared to other things they do in video games, and the rewards are clear. It's the standard method of play.
oh goodness, lizpolaris!
that's a Classic Corrente blogwar you just restarted there. heh, lemme go find a post that got me into a lot of trouble with the gamers, back in the day. thanks for your comment, i (dons flame suit) tend to agree with you.
pissing on the gamers
once again.
heh, it's always funny to read blog posts from Long Ago (blogospherically speaking, that is)
Horseshit
I game, and I'm also honest to a fucking fault. I correct cashiers who give me too much change, I call suppliers to correct an undercharge on invoices. Also, girls game just as much as boys anymore.
Never used a cheat code in my life, and shrugged off all the peer pressure to conform.
How in the hell does gaming translate to real life? And almost always by people who don't game. I would never think to tell a lesbian(or a trans, or an AA) what being in that community "really" means, and what behaviors they "must" learn from it, why is it that all kinds of non gamers feel qualified to this to gamers?
NOTE: CD, this tirade isn't directed at you in particular, just a general venting. Gamers are smeared with a lot of broad brushes, some deserved some not. This whole "Games cause...", ... being the pet peeve behavior of your choice, is non productive, and distracts from the real causes of this behavior. I am also not addressing your linked post in any way shape or form, since I haven't clicked through to read it.
Now, addressing the original question, why boys more than girls? That's easy. Just like rape, boys are taught that lying, "anything to win" is acceptable behavior. Why are boys more aggressive? Well boys and girls both play with dolls, but boys play with "action figures" that are geared for war and fighting, and girls play with dolls that are geared for socializing and nurturing, and we wonder why boys are more aggressive? Same thing, boys are raised with an "anything to win" attitude of acceptability, whereas girls are more raised with a sense of fairness and equality.
That's where the difference comes from, socially acceptable gender conformations, not generic video games.
He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave.
- Sir William Drummond
I play too.
My teenage boys think I'm old fashioned since I don't use cheat codes and would rather earn my way up through the skills (how boring). I will use guidebooks tho.
And I'm not saying all of it is evil. There's levels of damage - similar to in the games. You have to give your kids shields and resistance levels, so to speak, so they still have 3-D stuff they want to do (have friends over, play music or sports, etc.), while still spending enough time to be kick ass characters in whatever is their current favorite game. Also, there are certain games which don't cross my threshhold - like GTA.
So I'm just sayin' - they learn things from games, some good and some bad.