2019 - By the Numbers, . . .

Some examples:

#21 According to the most recent government figures, 24.6 million Americans have used an illegal drug within the last 30 days.   [Poor old DonDiego has not.*]

#26 If you are an American man, there is a 1 in 2 chance that you will get cancer at some point in your life. [Poor old DonDiego already has.]

#29 One survey has discovered that 15-year-old students in China are almost four full grade levels ahead of 15-year-old students in the United States in mathematics. [This is China's Century.]

#30 A different survey discovered that one-third of all American teenagers haven’t read a single book in the past year.[If this is a tortoise and the hare fable, the USA is not the hare.]

#36 One very alarming survey found that the average American spends 86 hours a month on a cellphone. [DonDiego does not own a cellphone.]

Ref: 50 Numbers from 2019 that are Too Crazy to Believe

*The closest poor old DonDiego has come to using an illegal drug was  when he attended a showing of 2001:A Space Odyssey several months after its release at a discount-theater which showed films on their "second run".  A few minutes before the kaleidoscopoic finale, most of his fellow college-aged viewers lit up their marijuana joints to enhance their viewing pleasure.  Inevitably DonDiego inhaled some of the secondhand smoke.  So far as he can tell he suffered no ill effects.

More items from the same list---#38 Today, almost half of all homeless people in the entire nation live in the state of California.- #42 Almost one-third of all U.S. Millennials are still living with their parents. -#34 Today, approximately 40 percent of all babies in America are born to unmarried women- #33 23 percent of all U.S. children live with a single parent. That is the highest rate in the entire world by a wide margin  --

How hilarious. Republicans LOOOOVE to talk about the homeless population in CA. It's been the subject of many Trump Twitter-farts. The reasons why--California is physically large; it has a very large population; the weather in most of the state is mild or relatively so year-round; and it has several very large cities that are in those mild climate zones. So, duh. Homeless people will migrate to, and stay in, large cities where they can live on the streets and not freeze to death. There's a reason why North Dakota has a very small homeless population!!!

The fact that many Millennials are still living with their parents is reflective of high housing costs and the stagnation of middle-class wages. But is it anything to burst a blood vessel over? Presumably, these arrangements are voluntary. Parents--especially as they age--might derive emotional and/or practical benefits from having a child living at home. I know that people who live with their parents are stigmatized as losers. But there's no reason for that. It was a common situation for the first couple hundred years of this country's existence. Nothing inherently wrong with it.

The babies born to unmarried parents and single parent figures (essentially, the same thing) are more reflective of cultural values than anything else. I suppose if you're a fundamentalist Christian, you might get outraged by that. In some countries, a woman having a child out of wedlock might be stoned to death or murdered by her brothers. I prefer the present situation in the US, and unlike Republican/fundamentalist assholes, I'm not going to pass judgment on someone else for the religious values they follow or don't follow.

The list did not include the most horrifying figure of all: that roughly 45% of Americans support Trump. That may be a latent effect of the "haven't read a single book" thing from a couple of decades ago.

No illegal drugs for me.

No cancer for me yet, at the age of 60.

I wish that more was expected of our children at school from parents.

I wish kids read more.

I spend plenty of time on my computer (mostly educational), but little time on my phone, other than for business.  Personal time on the phone...........maybe a couple hours a month.  Diego's decision to not own a cell phone is likely prudent.  I'm condident that you manage well without one.

Actually, a cell phone is simply a convenience, and if you want to overuse it, that's your lookout. That doesn't obviate the fact that they are useful, and sometimes, extremely useful.

I've used them to call people and tell them I'll be late for an appointment, find the nearest Chinese restaurant, and check the weather. I haven't ever had to use one to call 911, but it's good to know that if I have a car wreck, get stranded in the middle of nowhere, have a heart attack, break a leg while out hiking, etc. etc. I can whip out my phone and summon help.

I would think that last factor would make even cranky old farts who rail against them young folks and thar new-fangled technology want to use them. DonDiego is actually imprudent to not have one. Hopefully, he'll never have an emergency and be out of yelling distance.

I still use a flip phone.  I've been made fun of for having a flip phone.  I'm perfectly happy with it.  I can call and receive calls, I can text (though it takes some doing, hence I don't text except when necessary).  I have called 911 on it.  It actually has lots of available functions, but it is not a body part.  I don't stare at it while walking, talking, eating, conversing with others.  Of course, there is nothing to stare at.

My parents expected us kids to behave, study and make decent grades, be respectful to teachers and all others, have a careeer trajectory plan by the end of high school.   Woe unto any of us who even thought of doing otherwise.  Mom was a great cook and housekeeper, but that didn't make us want to live at home once we were into adulthood.   She made sure no lazy streak was allowed to fester.   I am forever grateful.

Kevin Lewis wrires: "DonDiego is actually imprudent to not have one. Hopefully, he'll never have an emergency and be out of yelling distance."  

Poor old DonDiego must apologize.  He does, in fact, have a cellphone, . . . but it is not a "smartphone".

His cellphone is a simple little black flip-phone the size of the communicators in the original StarTrek on TV.  He spends little time amusing himself with it.

I’m an unapologetic smartphone user.    Emails, stock quotes, gps, Yelp , showtimes, scores, and instant access to Google anytime my curiosity is sparked by something.    Can’t imagine how I lived before it.

its a false choice to say you can either embrace technology or social engagement.    Don’t blame bad parenting on the iPhone.

I agree. I even swipe my phone to pay for things. It is easier. A smartphone is almost a necessity for modern life. I know people often bemoan the lack of activity at the LVA claiming it is due to various things.   The truth is it has to do more with how the internet has changed. Most users' time spent on the Internet isn't on a laptop or desktop. Most of the time they are on their phone and bouncing around from App to App. That sends most of the web traffic to big sites that have apps like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and so on. Ten years ago almost everybody of at least middle class means had at least one newer laptop or desktop computer at home. Nowadays, a lot of people just carry their computer around with them in the form of a smartphone. 

In rural America, there are still large swaths of land that have no high-speed internet access. For example, 2/3 of the landmass in the county I live in has no high-speed internet access.  I live in a town of 2,500 people that is a small tourist town. In the summer there might be 20,000-30,000 tourists per-day running around in the town.  Yet, a third of the residential properties inside the town limit still have no land-based high-speed Internet access. My home internet connection through my rural phone cooperative using fiber optic cable typically runs at 50 Mbps.  My smartphone service through Sprint typically runs at 70 Mbps. 

The phone companies are ending phone service altogether in a lot of rural areas refusing to replace or maintain old lines pushing even old uneducated bumpkins to get smartphones.

Bottom line people in rural areas tend to rely on their smartphones for high-speed internet access. 

People using laptops and desktops at home to surf the Internet are a dying demographic.  That is why it is mostly the 50+ crowd here.    

Candy, you're parents sound exactly like mine.  I litterally never considered another option than college.  I was tought manners mostly by my mom, including how to use cutlery, how to treat a lady, to look people in the eye when being introduced, to hold the door open for women, etc.  There was no discussion about preparing for life..............it was fully expected.