YOUR KIDS AND TECH

I’ve been thinking for awhile about technology and kids. Of course you tell yourself you won’t be the type of Dad that lets his children on the iphone. But it’s not that easy. It’s not as simple as just not handing it to them. Your child is eventually going to ask you for it, and those kids have a way of breaking a person down. Touchscreen is everywhere- and everyone is on it all the time. It’s hard to shelter a kid from technology, its only a matter of time.

So eventually you’ll cave. At first the kid won’t ask you too often- maybe just a little educational game that you play together. A short video of some nursery rhymes. An episode of Seseme Street. Eventually you’ll be at lunch somewhere- the kid will get a little fussy and you’ll lean the phone up on a glass of water and let her dive into a few episodes while you finish up a much needed adult conversation.

This is dangerous. Some of these devices are literally bursting into flames in peoples hands, and yet that is not the most harmful part. We are addicted. We are media junkies. How many times a day do you- pick up your phone, unlock it, open an app, check your sales, check email, check you texts, check the time, refresh social media, and set it back down? Most people can accomplish this in a 5–10 second window. You repeat this process whenever it crosses your mind throughout the day.

We weren’t 2 years old when we were first introduced to the “smart phone.” The first iPhone came out around 2007. We have no real grasp on what happens to a person after being attached to one for their entire childhood. It can’t be good.

We have to do better with these kids. We must try harder to keep them off.

There is only one way to make this happen. We have to lead by example, we must minimize our own screen time. We need to be more mindful about our habits.

Everything we touch seems to have a battery and wifi, so much so that we are now strapping them to our wrists and shoving them in our ears. It’s disgusting. Put the phone down when you can, take off your pointless wifi-Bluetooth watch, pull the earbud out of your ear, and use your tech as the tool it can be, and not the drug it’s turning into. Maybe this will help give our kids a fighting chance.

-JDW