These children are five and one and a half. They are more privileged then some in some regards, insofar as they have DSL and a pair of parents who know about technology and the world outside their proximity. That in mind, I have some thoughts.
Some Things to Consider
- My children believe television is provided by Apple.
- They believe you can pause TV, shift it from room to room, manipulate it.
- They think TV is videogames, google, weather.
- They think music comes in iPods, and that I can go back and play it again.
- Phones are for pockets.
- When Daddy’s away, they can see him, watch him do work, share videos, play games remotely.
- They make movies and photo collages and songs for gifts to their grandparents.
- They aren’t social networkers now, but they could be.
Sure my kids have a life away from the scary rectangle. We swim, play at the park, run around and have adventures. But this age of connectedness, of controlling our media, of being able to reach who we want, how we want, when we want, and to timeshift EVERYTHING, these are big things. Monumental. Consider for a moment my childhood:
From My Childhood:
- Television was black and white and infrequent.
- If what was on didn’t appeal, I walked away, or more often, watched blankly until I got my fill.
- Music was vinyl, easily damaged, and very very finite.
- If I wanted to be creative, it ended up as a single serving entity. Only my parents or whoever I could reach physically could see it.
- The people in my neighborhood were the people I could meet.
- Everything was handed down, and there was no up.
There is power in this. Personal power. This is the ability to choose what we do with our media, and how we relate to other people. Yes, it’s digital, but it’s also the way that we make relationships across the glass. Huh, there’s another one: screens aren’t glass.
What do you think?
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