I recently read The Winter Of Our Disconnect by Susan Maushart and was smugly shocked at how
'connected' she and her three teenagers were. How could they be allowed to stay up all night with laptops? Sounded so extreme.
Then yesterday, thinking about the book, I took a quick inventory of our home's technology.
3 Widescreen televisions
1 Analogue small television
2 DVD players
1 iPhone
1 iPad
1 Android pad
1 Nintendo DSi
1 Game console
and 1 $29 mobile that I bought after my one died and I didnt want to spend $100+ on a new one.
Who is not so smug now? Ummm that would be me. Worse is that I know that there are people out there who will read that list and think the same as I did about Maushart's house.
I could try to excuse it by saying hubby works in IT so we kind of got some of that stuff by default, but it doesn't excuse the fact that we have come to rely on it to check ideas, enable homework or just to entertain ourselves. My kids don't sleep with DSi's, laptops or even tv's, they don't have mobile phones or are on Facebook - no, not even the 14 year old.
But we do use it alot, probably not more than any of our peers, but lets face it that really isnt saying much is it? Lately I have weaned myself of the PC and have been doing more craft/quilty stuff, both kids have taken up a new hobby each, Wes is doing archery twice a week with Dave and Amelia is learning piano. Since archery has arrived on the scene Wes' gaming is much much less and he has let his online gaming subscription lapse without tooo much whinging. I am taking that as a positive.
I am pushing for a more balanced life! How is your technology inventory?
I love tecnology, but I have to be careful because I could quite easily spend all day eveyday on the pc, smart phone or ipad. hummm maybe I better try harder. lol
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, I can easily lose a couple of hours to blog surfing alone!
DeleteIt sneaks up doesn't it. That's awesome that your 14 year doesn't have a facebook account. Well done to you for that.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure my brain thanks me when I switch off and go and do something more useful with my hands instead.
It does! We didn't even have a personal mobile until 5 years ago, Dave had a work one but that was it. So we have gathered all that in the last couple of years. I just can't see why a 14 yo needs a FB account to talk to his friends he sees all day. I know of a friend whos 8 & 9 yo's have accounts!
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