Comment Re:Growing up too fast? (Score 3, Insightful) 758
I completely agree with this post.
I'm convinced that the next couple of decades are going to be very difficult ones for parents throughout the Western world, simply because our priorities have become skewed due to pressures beyond our presumed reach.
When I was public school, I was in a Gifted program. It was a hard experience, mostly because you're labeled "different" and "strange" due to the fact you loved reading up on history, science and other "nerdy" topics. The sense of isolation was so bad sometimes that there were days when you'd trade in all those intellectual skills you were given just so you could get along with people more easily. I know the easier way was to confine myself to watching TV (something I did far too much) and reading books - distinctly non-social activities. I spent a lot of time wondering what was wrong with me instead of really trying to deal with the problem. Being a kid and feeling like your only true friends were "things" as opposed to people is one of the worst experiences of modern childhood. It's not like instant pain; it's like a sustained, slow burn into your self-confidence and self-esteem. It's taken my years to get over it and I'm still not entirely there, but believe me I want to succeed.
I know the only way I got through it was through my mom, who really tried to help me get involved in sports (softball, floor hockey, still loads of fun) and other outside activities. I knew I was born different and that was hard for me, but I worked hard and tried to become more social on an intellectual level, as opposed to an instinctual level that many other people seem born with.
Truth be told, I've made mistakes along the way and there are times when I've felt socially underdeveloped in comparison to other people my own age. But I've worked hard and I feel like I'm doing better. I've earned multiple university degrees, got a great job, a lot of good friends now, I work out, a rich full life and a wonderful, supportive partner. I'm refusing to let past hurt defeat me. I know my childhood was better because of my mom.
What's the point of this? I'm worried that technology could isolate permanently a lot of kids if their parents are too busy, too harried to sit down with them to have dinner, help their kids with homework, talk to them and let them feel loved and supported. I don't think I'm perfect now by any means - no one ever is - but I know for a fact that if my mom hadn't been there to help steer my childhood in a positive way, I'd be in far, far worse shape today. Technology is a wonderful thing, but it is ultimately artificial, a replica of reality that simply can't replace the real and wonderful experiences that make life worth living. Kids need balance now more than ever in a world that regularly broadcasts such media events as 9-11, Paris Hilton and 50 Cent - hardly examples of media's power to inform and shape the mental environment. If you can't help guide them towards a balanced lifestyle when they're kids, how do you expect them to live that way as adults? Through powers of suggestion? Through merely "getting on with it?" No way, not going to happen.
I'm convinced that the next couple of decades are going to be very difficult ones for parents throughout the Western world, simply because our priorities have become skewed due to pressures beyond our presumed reach.
When I was public school, I was in a Gifted program. It was a hard experience, mostly because you're labeled "different" and "strange" due to the fact you loved reading up on history, science and other "nerdy" topics. The sense of isolation was so bad sometimes that there were days when you'd trade in all those intellectual skills you were given just so you could get along with people more easily. I know the easier way was to confine myself to watching TV (something I did far too much) and reading books - distinctly non-social activities. I spent a lot of time wondering what was wrong with me instead of really trying to deal with the problem. Being a kid and feeling like your only true friends were "things" as opposed to people is one of the worst experiences of modern childhood. It's not like instant pain; it's like a sustained, slow burn into your self-confidence and self-esteem. It's taken my years to get over it and I'm still not entirely there, but believe me I want to succeed.
I know the only way I got through it was through my mom, who really tried to help me get involved in sports (softball, floor hockey, still loads of fun) and other outside activities. I knew I was born different and that was hard for me, but I worked hard and tried to become more social on an intellectual level, as opposed to an instinctual level that many other people seem born with.
Truth be told, I've made mistakes along the way and there are times when I've felt socially underdeveloped in comparison to other people my own age. But I've worked hard and I feel like I'm doing better. I've earned multiple university degrees, got a great job, a lot of good friends now, I work out, a rich full life and a wonderful, supportive partner. I'm refusing to let past hurt defeat me. I know my childhood was better because of my mom.
What's the point of this? I'm worried that technology could isolate permanently a lot of kids if their parents are too busy, too harried to sit down with them to have dinner, help their kids with homework, talk to them and let them feel loved and supported. I don't think I'm perfect now by any means - no one ever is - but I know for a fact that if my mom hadn't been there to help steer my childhood in a positive way, I'd be in far, far worse shape today. Technology is a wonderful thing, but it is ultimately artificial, a replica of reality that simply can't replace the real and wonderful experiences that make life worth living. Kids need balance now more than ever in a world that regularly broadcasts such media events as 9-11, Paris Hilton and 50 Cent - hardly examples of media's power to inform and shape the mental environment. If you can't help guide them towards a balanced lifestyle when they're kids, how do you expect them to live that way as adults? Through powers of suggestion? Through merely "getting on with it?" No way, not going to happen.
