I had an interesting conversation with a few friends this last weekend while we were at the deer cabin. My friend Paul was going into detail about his daughter’s addiction to her cell phone. His basic complaint was that when she had her phone, her head was down and she was engulfed in the cell phone world while the real world was passing her by.
It’s pretty funny to see how technology has made our world easier yet more complex at the same time. Before, our lives were measured in years, days and hours. Now, they are measured in minutes, seconds, and milliseconds. Texting, Facebook, Twitter and all other social media outlets have our children mesmerized. The big question is, How and when do we introduce our children to the world of technology?
“When we sit at the table for dinner, she has her head down and is not talking or listening to us,” says Paul. “It’s like she is a totally different person. When I take the phone away…she’s just fine.”
Paul’s instinctive solution was to take the phone away and give it back when his daughter turned 18. While this might sound good, I believe it would do more harm than good in the child’s development. It is very important to introduce kids to everything in the world, especially technology. Like it or not, we are living in a technological world and not giving your children exposure that will be detrimental in the long run.
When your children hit college, a) technology will be light years ahead of where it is now and b) if they are not on the front edge, it will have passed by them at the speed of light. Their jobs, social life, information sources, everything will be based in technology. Denying them entry to that world would be a huge mistake.
I believe that it is very important for my children to be exposed not only to emerging technology, but also everything the world has to offer. The way we are going to approach this situation is to LET our kids have access, but be able to control that access by offering limits and by introducing them to different activities that keep them anchored in reality. Fishing, for example, is an activity that we all enjoy as a family. As they get older and start “leaning” toward their displays on their phones, I’m going to pull them back (ever so gently) and hopefully keep them interested in the outdoors.
It’s funny, my wife and I are amazed that our kids can turn on the computer, log on to their “kids” websites and then log off when they are done. When I was a kid, computers were barely in existence…let alone a common household item. A computer to them is the equivalent of bicycles of my generation.
My kids will have cell phones, but they will come with a list of rules that will need to be followed in order to enjoy the privilege of having it. Same goes with computers (and their games), mp3 players and anything the future throws at us. Only time will tell if it is the correct way.
