I was almost 12 the first time I ever used a computer and 30 before I owned one. Your cousin was just 5 when she got her first iPod. Is that a sign of the times or what? Technology is moving at the speed of light and there is no doubt that you will be way more tech-savvy than your dad or I am.
These days, people are connected in so many ways…simultaneously. We can text, instant message, e-mail, interact on a number of different social networking sites such as; Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and yes, we can even blog. 🙂
According to a recent article in Parenting magazine, How Technology Changes the Way Kids Communicate, 61% of virtual-world visitors are between the ages of 3 and 11, and 22% of kids ages 6 to 9 already have their own cell phone. In a study in the journal Pediatrics, 58% of kids 10 to 15 listed a form of communication as the major reason to go online. As a new mother, these statistics are disconcerting. Has the art of the handwritten letter, a good long chat on the phone and looking people in the eye when we communicate with them all but vanished?
I’ll be the first to admit that I dislike talking on the phone and I spend way too much time on the World Wide Web, not to mention this blog and it’s easier for me to send a quick text or e-mail than pick up the phone. On the other hand, I am very grateful that I have been able to get reacquainted with long lost friends that I never would have, were it not for Facebook. At the same time, no one enjoys face-to-face interaction more than I do or brightening up someone’s mailbox with a greeting card. For me the online methods of communication have become extensions of my relationships and it’s because of this technology that they are better.
As you become more intrigued by the lure of the computer screen glow, don’t think that we are going to lose you to your room for hours on end as you IM with your friends. There will be limits placed on your computer time to allow for some good old fashioned outdoor time. I’m talking about skinned knees, dirt under your nails, frogs in your pockets and grass stains. Also, you will never, I repeat NEVER, be allowed to text while at the dinner table or bring your iPod out with us to a restaurant. There are times to unplug and during these times, I hope you will actually want to talk to your dad and I about your day, your hopes, dreams, fears and online buddies.
The best is yet to be.
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You are my most “connected” friend to me, we are linked on so many sites (fb, goodreads, netflix, LinkedIn, our blogs, to name a few)! 🙂
I'm a proponent for technology but still enjoy the days I get to “unplug”. But wow does the WWW make my life easier!
Here here! I cannot stand when I say kids in restaurants texting, listening to music and/or playing their video games while their parents just sit there with them at the table. Talk about bad table manners! Geez!