| Recent studies highlight our children are becoming | | | | their own abilities to enter into social situations. So |
| super skilled when it comes to finding their way | | | | many spend their social time glued to a computer |
| around a computer, but less proficient at social | | | | screen in their leisure time, they have been |
| skills such as making new friends, knowing what | | | | rendered socially inept in just about every other |
| to say in certain social situations, and so on. | | | | respect. A surprising number of teenagers are |
| Hardly surprising, considering that from as early as | | | | unable to comprehend a section of society that |
| the late seventies we have all been obsessed | | | | are unskilled in computer technology and would be |
| with teaching our kids how to use their | | | | unable to interact with such people. |
| computers efficiently and how to navigate the | | | | It is important that responsible parents and |
| web, so they would not be left behind in the | | | | teachers promote social skills in your people, to |
| techno race for supremacy, as it were. By the | | | | prepare them for adult sociability. Parents have as |
| nineties we all accepted that, if our children were | | | | great a role to play as teachers. Teach your child |
| to make any real progress in life, they must be at | | | | to answer a telephone politely and correctly. Give |
| ease with a computer mouse and keyboard. | | | | your child some basic information to ease their |
| To some extent, this it true. Nowadays it is | | | | journey into maturity; tell them how to address |
| unacceptable for any school leaver to be unskilled | | | | someone formally as well as informally, it cannot |
| in computer technology. Some have only basic | | | | harm them to know these things and one day |
| knowledge but enough to get by in a world run | | | | they might value their own ability to be |
| by computers. It does seem a pity, however, | | | | comfortable at any social level. |
| that we have neglected our children´s | | | | By all means, encourage your child to be a whiz |
| other social skills so woefully. | | | | on a keyboard, but don´t allow them to |
| Many young adults have very little confidence in | | | | neglect other areas of social behaviour. |