I met a friend at the movies tonight and she has four boys. Yes, I do bow down and kiss the ground she walks on for handling this with grace and humor. We were talking about how inundated our children are with technology 24/7. IM, texting, facebook, cell phones and computers all seem to have taken the place of actual conversations between human beings. The kids are tethered together by battery powered umbilical cords instead. My son will text his friends when he needs something, and on the rare occasion he actually calls them, it usually ends up in voicemail. The kids don’t pick up as it just interrupts important things like Guitar Hero or raiding the refrigerator for the fourth time today. But no one takes this personally, except the moms.
I saw evidence that this is not a generational malaise at dinner the other night. I was sitting with some other moms when we all noticed a dad laser focused not on his kids in front of him, but on his crackberry the ENTIRE dinner. Not one word was exchanged at the table, but the kids must have been used to this as they came prepared with workbooks to entertain themselves during dinner. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. I am afraid technology has become a common dinner companion these days and one day in the future, we can tell our grandchildren, balanced on our virtual knee, as we LOL, how in the olden days, people actually, what was that word again? Oh yes, “talked” to one another. So what do you think. Do we need to step away from technology or is it a necessary evil?
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You are so right my dear friend. I am refusing (at least for now) to get connected to the internet through my phone even though my phone has the capability. I do not want to be that connected. I need my space and my time. And I would much prefer to talk (and boy can I talk) to a real person. I dislike sitting at the table with someone while they answer their phone; it makes me feel unimportant. And to be texting seems to me the person is saying – I am not engaged in this interaction. Throw them all away and let’s start over!!!
I would like to take our Playstation right now and throw it out the window!!!
I’ve been noticing the same culture shift. Very scary for us old broads. I saw 2 teens in Starbucks recently sitting at a table texting away. From their body language I suspect they were communicating with one another by texting instead of talking to one another while they were present. But the only saving grace is that writing of sorts is coming back into our worlds. Letter writing almost evaporated for phone conversations.
Time will tell how this all evolves. Great post to keep us alert.
Who are you calling old broads??? Not us, I can assure you
My son has tried to text me from upstairs to bring him things, but I refuse! If he needs something that badly, he can get his little bottom downstairs and retrieve it himself or ask me, preferrably using the words “please” and “thank you” somewhere in the request. A girl can dream, can’t I?
Kathy, I agree that it is really rude to interrupt live discussion for a technological sidebar. I have had this happen on a date and it screamed “you are not important at this moment” loud and clear!