technology — Dad Life — Twisted Ellipse

I know a few parents who are in a desperate fight to keep their kids away from technology. We all know too well the lengths we all go to trying to hide our smartphones while still keeping them within reach to keep an eye on our social media. For the most part we are all trying to instill the same childhood on our kids that we had. One full of play and imagination and social interaction. Well, as a gamer parent and a tech fiend I'm here to tell you that it is a losing battle.

Now I usually have Netflix on for the boys while we are downstairs and I am gaming on the PC, but during that time they are also playing with their trains or jumping around on the couches. And yes, we do have a screen in the vehicle, but that is only for long road trips. It isn't even in the car unless we are taking a long drive. However we do keep our phones away from the kids. At the moment there is a time and a place for technology. But that time is increase, and soon you won't be able to find a place that doesn't have some technological interface.

You see technology is only going to increase in scope, availability, and accessibility, exponentially from here on out.

“Technology has advanced more in the last thirty years than in the previous two thousand. The exponential increase in advancement will only continue.”

— Niels Bohr

Right now you are worried about your 2 year old playing with your smartphone and wondering at what age kids get phones now a days, I know we were thinking about that. I've heard parents say how their kid can work their phone better than themselves. Well in the next 10-14 years when they are at that age there might be something completely different that takes the role of phones as we see them now.

My first flip phone, which could call and send sms messages only was less than 15 years ago. Now your phone has your watch, day planner, phone book, web browser, email, social media, streaming video, music player, gps, camera, exercise companion, etc. Think of the next 15 years. You can't. You can't fathom it. Could your grandparents have dreamed of the idea of Skype/Facetime with their grandkids from across the world? Being able to see family in real time as compared to snail mail letters that they used to communicate with over the course of weeks. It's literally impossible to imagine what is coming.

Just as you are so detached from your parents "back in my day" stories, your kids will be rolling there eyes at you. You can already see evidence of it now. Do your kids even know what the icon for the save button is? Do you really think about what you are saying when you say, "roll up the window", "can you tape that show", or "hang up the phone". None of those really apply anymore. You don't roll up the windows, you don't tape things, and you don't hang up the phone any more.

You can't fight the advancement of technology. You can only learn and grow with it. Don't get stuck behind. Times are different, your kids have the power to connect to the entire world in an instant. What you can do is teach your kids about safety in the technological world. Namely on the internet, below are links to previous articles, mainly regarding kids and gaming, how to help protect them and how positive online communities can be.