Business Quote by Malcolm Gladwell
““We have given teens more money, so they can construct their own social and material worlds more easily. We have given them more time to spend among themselves — and less time in the company of adults. We have given them e-mail and beepers and, most of all, cellular phones, so that they can fill in all the dead spots in their day — dead spots that might once have been filled with the voices of adults — with the voices of their peers. That is a world ruled by the logic of word of mouth, by the contagious messages that teens pass among themselves. Columbine is now the most prominent epidemic of isolation among teenagers. It will not be the last.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: The New Yorker Festival, 1999
Teenagers are increasingly isolated from adults, relying on peer communication through technology, which amplifies harmful rumors and social contagion.
In simple terms: Teens spend more time with peers via tech, reducing adult interaction and increasing isolation.
Key Takeaway
Encourage adult engagement and media literacy.
Themes
adolescence
technology
isolation
social contagion
media influence
Mood
concerned
reflective
Type
observational
cautionary
When to use this quote
- school counseling
- parental guidance
- media education
- community programs
Key Concepts
peer pressure
communication networks
digital media
social dynamics
Questions to Reflect On
- How can adults regain meaningful dialogue with teens?
- What safeguards can reduce harmful peer contagion?
A Different Perspective
Adults may lack relevance to teen culture, limiting influence.
![“[Norden] said, with the Mark 15 Norden bombsight, he could drop a bomb into a pickle barrel at 20,000 feet.” quote by Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/565/malcolm-gladwell-348_barrels_norden-said-with-the-mark-15-norden-bomb_62474.jpg)
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)