Welcome to our 28th edition of the weekly open thread.
Boston writes in:
I’ve been a follower of KL for a while now and enjoy you sharing everything. You seem to end up discussing topics that I am interested in hearing about. I have a question about children and technology. I think it’s important to an extent for children to be introduced to technology because of the large part of life and business now. But do you think that it limits their imagination and their attention span because it’s so easy for them to fulfill that quick need of satisfaction. I’m mainly talking about tablets and smart phones. Hope to hear your thoughts. Go sox!
I celebrate the mastery of technology by my young men. We have two choices regarding how we view their budding relationship with their equipment:
1) “They don’t even know how to communicate because their faces are perpetually buried in their devices.”
2) “This is tremendous. We have constantly evolving languages with which to communicate. Our kids speak these languages better than we do”
It’s all about the way we spin it. The theory of survival of the fittest suggests that each generation should theoretically emerge bigger, faster and stronger. It also makes sense from an evolutionary perspective that our offspring should be incrementally more intelligent than us. From the American Psychological Association:
Over the past 100 years, Americans’ mean IQ has been on a slow but steady climb. Between 1900 and 2012, it rose nearly 30 points, which means that the average person of 2012 had a higher IQ than 95 percent of the population had in 1900.
Political scientist James Flynn, PhD, of the University of Otago in New Zealand, first discovered those astonishing IQ gains nearly 30 years ago. Since then, the steady rise in IQ scores in the United States and throughout the developed world has been dubbed the “Flynn effect.”
With every new advancement, from writing to radio to texting, people have decried the loss of connection and skill. We fight progress at every turn when we should be celebrating. We fear change and love the comfort of life being managed and navigated the way we do or did it instead of loving the spectacular adjustments and adaptations our kids have made.
Technology is inherently built to make our lives more efficient and, in many cases, more effective. We can also learn faster.
My older son, Chase, is a resourceful 15 year old. He learns what he needs utilizing technology. His tutors come in the form of youtube. That means he doesn’t need to get in a car and drive to see a human. You could make a case that he will subsequently spend more time interacting with a friend via text by choice, thereby developing a deeper relationship. There are more cases to be made that technology is a life enhancer for their generation than the inverse.
We can have faith that our kids are not dumb. We need not be fearful of their connections with the digital world. We can stop our jealousy and glorify their evolution. Better yet, let’s dive in, try to keep up and share in their experience. We’ll likely learn something.
Strong mind,
Kap
Opening up the floor for your questions and thoughts.
I would agree that we should embrace it, but I feel we must also manage it. Many ‘advances’ are not necessarily positive. Fast food is convenient, but if that’s all you eat….Perhaps the ultimate goal would be to guide your child so they can manage it themselves. Make sure they understand it’s not the only neat thing going on in the world! It’s only a tool, and like most things in life, it has a positive and negative side. Teach them the difference.
I’d tend to agree. I am all for technology, so long as this is not a child’s only way of communicating …. And living.
If they can’t look someone in the eye and carry a conversation, face to face and speak in front of a group (vs only addressing people via an e-mail or text chain), then i forsee challenges.
I’ve seen some kids who don’t go and ride skateboards, throw a baseball or play at a park becuase they are lost in cyberspace… Watching others do it.
By reading the blog for sometime now, it is evident that this is not how Kap man’s the ship, but yet is worth noting that not all child raisers (aka -parents) truely grasp that balance.
I am a mother with two boys with autism. The things you described are symptoms of autism. The technology is a coping mechanism for a child who is overwhelmed in our world and NEEDS to retreat. My kids before they will try a new activity will watch it. Yes their technology is with them so we can stay at the venue, then they might try it.
This year I got them to swing a baseball bat.
I know what my kids watch. I know how to play all their games and I snuck in some education apps so their learning math and reading but they think it’s fun.I have seen the kids you describe in the park and 9/10 the kid has autism.
I agree technology like anything needs proper boundaries. But there is always another side to the story.
Hi Kap
Sorry I have not had the chance to post often, but I am still an avid reader. How do you feel about kids performing volunteer work? I started at a young age volunteering in soup kitchens and I started mentoring elementary school kids while in high school. I am having the discussion with another dance instructor who wishes to engage her young children into giving me in their community.
Kelebek
Glad I asked the question. It’s great to hear others thoughts on this subject. Thank you!
Being a hoops guy, you likely saw the official retirement of the basketball-you. Not sure if you ever noticed the highly similar approaches to life you share with Steve Nash. But he seems worthy of a mention in this forum. Any impressions of Nash as a player or person?
I searched the blog and couldn’t find anything on essential oils. if there was something on it I apologize in advance.
If not, however, I’m interested in your thoughts on this. Several people who I work with swear by it. I’m not convinced it’s a bad thing, I’d rather just eat an apple.
I’ve got a question I would love to see you explore, Gabe: I hate sprints. I don’t know if I’m doing them right, I feel goofy when I am doing them, etc. My question; can I sub a couple hours of Ultimate Frisbee or an hour or two of 21 (basketball) for sprints once a week to once every 10 days and reap the same physical rewards?