Is social media allowing for too much lack of discipline, or is it just becoming the new norm for future generations?

Good question SFC (Join to see). I believe your last sentence says it all. In a way, social media is a training ground. You can literally reach out and touch anyone, intentionally or unintentionally with your posts. When you talk to someone face to face you're more likely to think before opening your mouth and even in a heated discussion, tend to be more respectful. The anonymity that the computer provides is slowly fading into myth because after a few conversations/interactions with people, you get to know them. Unless you drop off the internet, there's not really any place to hide in cyberspace, you will be found. We need to treat social media the same way we treat face to face conversation. My oldest is 13 and getting exposed to social media through school. Everything - work, tests, grades is being done on the Google Chromebook. This includes talking with fellow students and teachers via email on a private school domain - you can't send in or out of the domain. We're teaching him that he has to watch how and what he says. Grammar and punctuation are graded as well so teachers will let students know when they are using too many abbreviations, are "texting" as opposed to writing and are not spelling correctly in emails.

People tend to feel a sense of security sitting behind their keyboard. Often things are said with out much thought of the consequences unlike when speaking in person. I have caught myself a few times wanting to make a smart remark in a serious discussion and had to stop myself. But there have been a few times I didn't stop myself in time, potentially ruining my credibility.

These issues have been around since the beginning of time. It is just that the internet makes the world smaller, faster, and much more convenient. Someone who normally would hold their tongue at work, because either there is no one there to agree with them or their coworkers are tired of hearing their ... can go online and find both a whole new audience and even others that agree with them building their courage to say "those" things.

As far as the feelings, that is just from the culture change of our society. Between mothers of America, changes in technology, and all those things that "hurt" us but get "them" more money people are lazier, looking for quick wins, and finding ways that society will cater to them.

While I feel that we will never reach the level of the Idiocracy movie, the gap between true leaders and intelligence will widen from "the rest of the herd" more and more. And coincidentally, I love technology, but spell check and calculators have got to be restricted for those with degrees or something, because it hurts us more than it helps.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/