Public Address | Cafe | Up Front: The Kids are All Right https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/ en-us Copyright (c) 2026 Public Address BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309124#post309124 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309124#post309124 How private you want to be is a factor of how hard you have to work to keep yourself safe.

I think that you're half right there. You're suggesting that your choice of a solution will come down to how hard you have to work to get the level of…

]]> Sun, 30 Mar 2014 13:38:17 +1300 Emma Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309120#post309120 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309120#post309120 How about their desire for privacy?

I sort of thought myself into a hole into a hole contemplating this question, because I think there are so many other factors that play into an individual's desire for privacy. How private you want to be is a factor of how hard you…

]]> Sun, 30 Mar 2014 11:59:13 +1300 BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309084#post309084 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309084#post309084 We’ve had some issues with bullying which was over social media, but they don’t associate that with the technology. Why would they? It’s just like talking.

It's easy to imagine how they might engage with it, and just as easy to get that wrong. Asking seems like the best way…

]]> Sat, 29 Mar 2014 13:00:58 +1300 Ross Mason https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309080#post309080 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309080#post309080 way back when her and her mates showed little interest in lighting fires.

Heh. At least mine appreciated explosions!!

]]> Sat, 29 Mar 2014 10:11:06 +1300 Chris Waugh https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309062#post309062 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309062#post309062 Or us complaining that telephones make it too easy to contact people.

I often find myself complaining that cellphones make it far too easy for people to contact me.

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 23:17:08 +1300 Jeremy Andrew https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309059#post309059 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309059#post309059 How does it look to them? I’m curious if this hyperconnectedness is something people born to it actually complain about.

It would be akin to fish complaining about water. Or us complaining that telephones make it too easy to contact people. Or about something else that I can't quite put…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 22:58:02 +1300 Ross Mason https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309058#post309058 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309058#post309058 I recall through my teenage years thinking regularly about the fact that one day I was likely going to be a father. When I got to be one I regularly thought about my teenage kids that once I was one.

I think it might have helped to keep the angst…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 22:54:32 +1300 Bart Janssen https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309057#post309057 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309057#post309057 Did you notice how all the kids were shouting for LJ to ask a question. They knew how powerful she was.

I might have a small crush over her now :)

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 22:52:19 +1300 Stewart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309055#post309055 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309055#post309055 Governmental hypocrisy is the new 'meh'

Hadn't you noticed?

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 22:31:07 +1300 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309052#post309052 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309052#post309052 Abbott said, “Let’s have a guy question.”

He actually said that. With those words and everything. Let’s have a guy question.

Good grief, I missed that moment. Because two girls speak and suddenly it's time for affirmative bloke action? Dick.

(Not that the boys who asked questions weren't also incredibly…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 22:06:45 +1300 Paul Campbell https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309050#post309050 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309050#post309050 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 21:58:43 +1300 ChrisW https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309048#post309048 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309048#post309048 "People are risking their lives to come to Australia. Why are they pushed out when there's so much to share?" Exemplary pincer movement, and beautiful phrasing!
A patriotic Australian, echoing the words of their National Anthem –
For those who’ve come across the seas
We’ve boundless plains to share…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 21:37:00 +1300 Emma Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309043#post309043 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309043#post309043 Even though he’s been cornered on the marriage equality question, carbon tax, and asylum-seekers, Abbott is so keen to ingratiate himself with these kids that he bends his rules:

The jaw-dropping moment for me was when, after the marriage equality question, Abbott said, "Let's have a guy question."

He actually…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 21:28:30 +1300 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309038#post309038 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309038#post309038 There's some hella smart kids

Sure are.

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 21:19:29 +1300 Jolisa https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309033#post309033 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309033#post309033 Those are some righteous 3rd formers — and superb interviewers, by any standard! I love how they manage to push Abbott beyond his own stipulated rules of engagement. This would make for a great discussion in a media studies class.

For anyone who hasn't had the time to watch the…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 20:46:39 +1300 Emma Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309031#post309031 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309031#post309031 How does it look to them? I’m curious if this hyperconnectedness is something people born to it actually complain about.

This is a complicated question. Well, it's a complicated answer. Are they aware of the drawbacks? Some. Are they particularly worried about them? No. They have yet to have a…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 20:33:21 +1300 BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309028#post309028 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309028#post309028 I think restricting it to people legally in NZ would be desirable, but otherwise yes, all for it.

Doh, yes, except that one.

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 20:10:44 +1300 Moz https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309026#post309026 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309026#post309026 It's an interesting thought experiment that we could have no voting age whatsoever, nor any other restrictions.

I think restricting it to people legally in NZ would be desirable, but otherwise yes, all for it.

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 19:51:50 +1300 BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309023#post309023 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309023#post309023 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 19:34:55 +1300 BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309022#post309022 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309022#post309022 What they’re having to grapple with is over-connectivity, the invasiveness, the lack of privacy. The permanent record of every dumb thing they’ve ever said or done. The same thing can look quite different depending on when you came in.

How does it look to them? I'm curious if this hyperconnectedness…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 19:23:11 +1300 bmk https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309017#post309017 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309017#post309017 Agreed totally – if you're going to have a democratic process you want as few barriers as possible. While I can see the attraction of the idea of a voting test when you start to consider the implications – you can easily envision some ugly scenarios.

Where do you draw…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 18:32:11 +1300 TracyMac https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309016#post309016 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309016#post309016 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 18:16:20 +1300 Moz https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309006#post309006 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309006#post309006 I wish we had the political will to move the voting age down to 12 – could be done gradually.

Over several weeks? Or just drop it to 16 and see how that goes before dropping it further? Beware the slippery slope, next you'll be letting dogs vote.

We've talked…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 17:24:23 +1300 Bart Janssen https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309005#post309005 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309005#post309005 that her year (not just her) is vastly more politically aware than other years

Of course they are. they have a tool that allows them to read any and all political information. When I grew up it was the newspaper and TV. There was a generation that didn't even have…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 17:11:27 +1300 Hilary Stace https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309004#post309004 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=309004#post309004 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 17:07:37 +1300 Moz https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308999#post308999 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308999#post308999 Voting age is one of those things we need to be challenged on, because while it seems quite natural if you don't think about it

I love explaining to 17 year olds that like the criminally insane, they're not considered fit to cast a vote.

It still amuses me that…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:46:59 +1300 David Hood https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308992#post308992 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308992#post308992 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:42:43 +1300 Peter Darlington https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308985#post308985 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308985#post308985 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:05:42 +1300 Peter Darlington https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308983#post308983 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308983#post308983 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:04:29 +1300 Hebe https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308982#post308982 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308982#post308982 What they're having to grapple with is over-connectivity, the invasiveness, the lack of privacy.

Absolutely. We haven't really had to deal with that until the last year, and I am so glad that their previous school actively discouraged indiscriminate cellphone use, ipods etc for under-14s. There was a ban on…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:02:08 +1300 Peter Darlington https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308979#post308979 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308979#post308979 What they're having to grapple with is over-connectivity, the invasiveness, the lack of privacy. The permanent record of every dumb thing they've ever said or done.

Yes indeed. We are on Facebook with our kids and a load of their friends and I just ignore all the party pics every…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:50:20 +1300 Hebe https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308977#post308977 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308977#post308977 Very wide :-)

Not to mention waaaaay better dressed than we ever were.
And better teeth.

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:48:20 +1300 Emma Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308973#post308973 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308973#post308973 Whilst older generations may have built the internet, I think X-generation can at least lay a claim to probably having built most of the World Wide Web, and I sure didn’t have me one of those back then.

My 18 year old son hangs out with us and our friends…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:02:00 +1300 Bart Janssen https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308971#post308971 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308971#post308971 I love the will to challenge the authority that these kids have still got. By the time we get all crusty and tired that will has been beaten down – we know there's no point. They don't.

They also look at things sideways – they suggest the obvious and then…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 14:48:17 +1300 BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308970#post308970 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308970#post308970 I’m talking about us creating an ongoing, long-term situation of pollution damage and resource scarcity, and leaving our kids to deal with the worst of it. This generation, for the first time, has a shorter life-expectancy than their parents.

I think that's true in some ways, but there's a great…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 14:36:58 +1300 BenWilson https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308968#post308968 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308968#post308968 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 14:01:50 +1300 Emma Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308964#post308964 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308964#post308964 Obvious answer: because most of them aren’t legally allowed to. The law tells them at a crucial time that their political views don’t count. Is it any wonder they react accordingly?

Voting age is one of those things we need to be challenged on, because while it seems quite natural…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:25:43 +1300 Emma Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308963#post308963 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308963#post308963 I’m reposting because every part of this is Finn’s own work, his passion, his action that made it happen.

That's fantastic, Hebe.

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:23:28 +1300 Emma Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308962#post308962 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308962#post308962 Things are tough now but that is nothing new, what is new is the middle class, middle aged moaning about how everything has gone to the dogs but it isn’t their fault and they are reluctant to do anything about it.

Raymond, my mother was born in 1928. She got…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:22:04 +1300 Hebe https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308961#post308961 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308961#post308961 This current bunch of teens are actually pretty damn great, I think. We Gen Xers raised us some kids who are more liberal, more questioning, and less risk-taking than we were at their age.

1000 per cent agreement. I know lots of seriously amazing teenagers who stun me with their…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:18:20 +1300 Raymond A Francis https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308960#post308960 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308960#post308960 Sorry Emma but I have to call you on
"We’re also passing on to them, possibly for the first time, a world worse than the one we grew up"
What do think it was like for my parents in 1935 or German kids in 1945

Things are tough now but…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 12:54:44 +1300 Idiot Savant https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308958#post308958 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308958#post308958 It'd be a start, I think, if we asked "young people" (that being an amorphous blob, like "the gays") why they aren't voting.

Obvious answer: because most of them aren't legally allowed to. The law tells them at a crucial time that their political views don't count. Is it any…

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 12:37:27 +1300 Public Address https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308957#post308957 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/up-front-the-kids-are-all-right/?p=308957#post308957 Discussion from blog post.

]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 12:37:27 +1300