The Era Of Digital Babysitters
I have heard the term "digital baby sitter" used more than once lately. Since becoming a parent to a VERY spirited and busy little boy, my time is not my own, in fact, I have very limited time to myself. I don't mind this, my kid is my everything and I love spending my moments with him. But I know how important it is for one to have time for oneself, on a spiritual and emotional level, and of course to regain one's sanity! I also know that there are a ton of other things to get done daily; cooking, cleaning, Steeming (have to include Steeming)!
So yes, babysitters make life easier, they're a necessity. Having a partner to help you is ideal, but it's not always realistic, either because your partner is busy bringing in some bucks or because you're doing it alone (big thumbs up to those who do it alone)! In this technological age however, I have noticed (and have been a culprit myself, I'm far from perfect) that parents are resorting more and more to digital gadgets and screens to keep their kids quietly entertained, while life goes on. I can't help but feel that this is definitely going to have a Psychological impact on our younger generations.
I'm all for technology, in fact, my husband and I own and run a Software Development Company, so we not only enjoy this digital era, but it's our bread and butter too! When it comes to our kid though, we are both old school. We believe in imaginative play, mud cakes, running and jumping - we limit TV as much as possible. As for iPads and mobile phones, we try to use them ourselves as little as possible in front of our child, never mind giving them to him for entertainment. Again, we are not perfect and I can never say "never", but this is our philosophy and we really do try stick to it.
Our son's school follows this same philosophy. He goes to a Waldorf school, where their curriculum is almost "hippie-like". You will not find TV's in the classrooms, no mobiles are permitted and learning is done through writing, not typing. It is only later in the students' high-school careers that modern technology is introduced to them. At this stage they are taught how to build a computer as well as requested to develop their own software - which I think is amazing! They don't just introduce you to technology, but encourage you to invent it!
So yes, I am of the opinion that introducing digital technology to our kids will have a negative impact. I say this because I feel minds aren't being stimulated as they should be, the imagination is being fed instead of being born. We cannot always monitor the information that is being poured into our young souls either, so as parents we are losing a touch of parental control. Lastly, it is way too easy to give in to the "digital babysitters", it's an easy way out for us - should parenting be so easy?
I upvoted because you wrote a good original piece even though I personally disagree that electronics are having a negative impact. As an avid reader, when my two oldest children were small I was very wary (to say the least) of electronics. I used to limit time on the computer, monitor activity with keystroke tracking, insist on more time spent reading or outside, etc.
But my views on this have evolved considerably over the past seven years. My oldest two are now 15 and 18, my youngest is 10, and they have completely unfettered access to online activity. I made this change in an experimental fashion about seven years ago, agreeing with my husband that we would give it six months and see what happened.
Contrary to warnings that "all they would do is play games" we found that while the limited time they used to have was entirely dedicated to gaming (and was never, ever enough, leading to fits and pleading when it was time to turn them off) now that they weren't limited, they began exploring all kinds of worlds of education I would never have imagined they'd even be interested in.
My eldest learned 5 languages, inspired by the different idioms his foreign language friends used (all of whom he met through online games). My middle child found a mentor through Roblox who is one of the biggest independent developers of mini-games on the site and learned to code through this friendship. He now earns money developing for himself and has just recently engaged his little sister (who loves to draw) in designing on paper the items that he digitizes for use in the games.
The greater benefit though, in my opinion, has been that by embracing this technology they love and immersing myself in it in order to see the good that it has to offer the trust my children have in us as parents has surpassed anything I could have hoped for. Far from hiding away in their rooms glued to the screen day and night, they voluntarily spend time sharing with us what new things they've learned, debating philosophical points, seeking our--and defending their--opinions on world matters. There is no rebellion and little disagreement, unlike when we limited electronic usage. They have goals for the future: My eldest will be going to college to get a degree in English so he can teach overseas. Middle of course wants to go for programming when the time comes. Youngest right now is aiming to someday open her own spa (inspired by the how-to make up videos she watches on YouTube).
And finally, I would point out that like it or not, the world is changing. The reason books were so valued a generation or so ago, is that they were the most efficient method of education. That is simply no longer true. The way people learn from YouTube (like I learned to plumb and run electrical and plaster and saved tens of thousands of dollars) may be different from the way they learn from a book, but that doesn't mean it's worse. Attention spans may be shorter (studies disagree) but even if they are, who's to say that's not a good thing for creativity and speed of development in the world we now face?
interesting article. i think that technology in education of our kids is good but with a balance.
Haha the digital babysitter !! When I was a kid the babysitter was the TV set ! LOL! If we were lucky , haha ! I good Walt Disney movie would keep us entertained and babysat for 2 hours !! I guess every era has their thing ! Upped !!👍👍👍💕
I just gave you my picks for the #hobbyhub contest ! Its so hard to pick !! Good luck deciding my friend !👍👍👍