Conor Gallagher - If Aristotle's Kid Had Facebook - IHM Conference

If Aristotle’s Kid was on Facebook - Conor Gallagher, will use his book, If Aristotle’s Kid Had an iPod, to show you how to tackle the issues and challenges of social media in your child’s life. It is important that children learn how to use technology in moderation while they are young in order to avoid immoderate use when they are older.

Live blogging notes..

Mr. Gallagher mentions some heavy statistics on hours of media for kids, worried our thumbs will "de-evolutionize."

Before 18 years of age our children see over 200,000 images of violence. Aristotle said if you are going to live in isolation you'll be either a beast or a hermit.  Too much time on one thing makes us myopic, like a cyclops.

Aristotle understood the nature of things...all his books were best sellers. He said humans are rational animals, with our 2 appetites comes struggle. 

Our nature is social.  Citing the Milgram experiment on pain and memory which highlights our need for an authority figure, Mr. Gallagher notes we are in search of leaders.  Google the schoolbus monitor (without your kids watching)  and see the nature of a pack of wild animals. Monkey see, monkey do.

Children look to their same sex parents. God made us social to do GOOD things.  Mother Theresa said if I look at the mass (of people) I will never act, if I look at the ONE I will. Virtual friends are not real presence, not real. You can have 1,000 friends and be lonely. Your brain can imagine up to an 8 sided object. As for friends, we can not fathom 300 friends...might as well be 3 million.

40% of all tweets are considered below spam, pointless babble.. We are meant for real conversation. As a professor he thinks it's changing students to write in fragments, in tweets.

FRIENDSHIP

Aristotle says you have to wish well for others for real friendship. Studies show that the number of confidants, with whom we share meaningful things, has dropped. Children whose parents divorce and remarry are 91% more likely to divorce.  Mom and Dad are archetypes to their child of friendship.  More psychologically damaging for parents to divorce than if they died!

Aristotle's 3 types of friends - 

Utility - like a barber, may go away when you go bald!

Pleasure - some you play with, a neighbor

Real - one who cares more about loving than being loved, only a few of these because it takes time to develop this care and intimacy. Personal.

But Aristotle missed the Perfect friendship of God. As parents we must foster true friendships so that we can be friends with Him!

You can order this talk on MP3 and ALL the conference talks at http://www.lilix.net/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1822

Mr. Conor Gallagher earned both his Masters in Philosophy and Juris Doctoris from The Catholic University of America. He began his professional career as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert J. Conrad, Chief Judge of the Western District of North Carolina. He has been an adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Political Philosophy at Belmont Abbey College, and is currently vice president of Publishing of Saint Benedict Press and TAN Books, as well as executive producer of Catholic Courses. He and his wife Ashley, are the proud parents of eight great children (all homeschooled!!). http://www.ihmconference.org/national/speakers/