Social interaction, says Mount Carmel Youth Ranch,
is integral to the human being. Many of us thrive on it. Mount Carmel
Youth Ranch believes that learning how to relate, communicate and
respect personal boundaries are a necessary part of learning how to be a
successful person. Most children grow up naturally learning the
boundary lines and ways of social interaction, explains Mount Carmel
Youth Ranch (MTCYR). Yet many young men today are missing the boat
completely.
According to Susan George, parenting coach at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch,
many young people today are not developing these types of skills due
to what she has dubbed “post-technology stress disorder syndrome,” or
PTSDS. Mount Carmel Youth Ranch sees many young men who seem to be
affected by this syndrome. Our youth have become dependent on
technology in a way that other generations have not, explains the
professional staff at Mount Carmel Youth Ranch. Things like cell phones
and texting hinder face-to-face social interaction. With such direct,
personal interactions come an understanding of body language and tone,
says MTCYR. These are things we used to naturally learn, but
technology makes it difficult.
Websites like MySpace and Facebook foster pseudo-relationships with
others, believes Mount Carmel Youth Ranch. Such social networking sites
take away the “interaction” in social interaction. MTCYR observes that
young men in their program seem more harmed than helped from these
sites. There is scientific proof that these forms of communication can
hamper rather than help young people in forming healthy social skills,
according to Mount Carmel Youth Ranch. The current state of technology
makes it difficult to be able to relate well with others outside of
their friendship groups or peers, stresses MTCYR.
These reasons explain why Mount Carmel Youth Ranch
offers a communication and relationships course. All young men who
enter Mount Carmel Youth Ranch (MTCYR) are required to take the course,
and nearly all end up benefiting greatly from it.
