A new generation. New technology. New habits. A new way of living. Collision between generations... Be connected. At all times. NEVER disconnect. That is what the tray advert from Mc Donalds say...
"Get the latest deal and NEVER EVER disconnect!" Is that what we want?
A baby is crying on the bus. The bus driver is uncomfortable, the other travelers are uncomfortable, the mother is stressed... Someone takes up their latest Vodafone and turns on Dora the Explorer and showing it to the baby who quickly stops crying. Everyone smiles. Thank God the baby is quiet. Thank God for Vodafone. Is this where we are going?
I walk along the beach on a sunny day and during my 200 m walk I see 13 people. They are sitting on benches with views of Lac Léman and the French Alps. You can see Mount Blanc clearly. Some people are just walking down the path... Every single person is staring on their smart phone and has ear phones in their ears. even couples and friends. They don't talk. They surf on their phones and no one sees the beautiful views.
I don't know about you but this development scares me and maybe this is a part of the problem. That I am threaten by the development instead of embracing it. But do I want to embrace this path? Now when adverts are showing up around us in media telling us that this is today's normal, does that mean that we can let go of our fears of online time taking over our lives? Just because we are told this is normal?
It is my greatest challenge as a parent, this new time with technology in every corner of your home, in every pocket of your clothing. This is a new world that I don't understand. When I grew up we didn't even have cartoons on TV. I walked to my friend's house and knocked on the door to see if she was home. If she didn't pick up the phone when I called, I would call again later. I shouldn't compare, but I do.
I don't mind Cyber use, I am a blogger and social media user myself, but how can we find a balance, I wonder... On a rainy day lets give it away to Cyber World but when the sun is shining and a friend is coming over, lets go outside and find an adventure shall we? But I find my children turning more and more into Cyber World and spending less and less time in the real world. I find them on computer devices for hours on end if I'm not there telling them to get off. And when I do it always turns into a fight... It is a daily battle. It is a boring and frustrating battle. They wear me down. And I admit - I give in. For peace. To avoid conflict. But it eats me from the inside.
How do we find a balance, does anyone have any great advice to give? Controlling? Restrictions? Timer software? Earning computer time? Or the freedom to use with responsibility and self control? How do you deal with Cyber World taking over? Do you embrace it or fight it? I honestly feel like just throwing it all out the window and force the whole family onto a Cyber Detox at times. Am I the only one feeling like this, I wonder...
Today we are having a family meeting, our first one ever, to discuss this matter and hopefully we will reach a solution, a balance, that everyone is happy with. I don't think I can forbid things, but we can sure be more aware and restrict ourselves. Time together in real life is after all the only thing that matters.
Kärlek
Annette
FOLLOW My Rose Valley HERE:
Hi my lovelies. First of all THANK YOU for all your wonderful input on the "Time online.. All the time?" blog post. It has been interesting and helpful to read about how other people treat this topic. We are still working on some new rules, although I would like to call them frame work as they will be flexible and not written in stone. I will get back and share our new Cyber Use Rules with you soon. I think this dicussion really needs a follow up post.
