Technology taking toll on youth
I heard a little girl dribbling a basketball the other day. It was the most refreshing sound I’ve heard all year. It was an indication that at least one child had discovered an activity that requires some degree of physical dexterity – and without the use of some form of technology.
I’m not complaining that technology is bad. When I finish this, I’ll send it using that relatively recent technological advance known as e-mail. It’ll be part of a 12-hour day, in which I sit in front of a computer.
Yet I’m becoming not inclined to sing the praises of any new technological toy, until we find the worthwhile properties of the ones we have.
I don’t own a cell phone. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to talk to anybody while I’m driving. I also don’t like having to continually ask people to repeat themselves because their cell phones are running low on batteries. Call me when you get home!
I admit I enjoy giving dirty looks to the drivers I pass on the highway, when they’re doing 25 in a 65, and they appear to be engaged in a cell phone conversation that’s not as important as nearly causing a 20-car pile-up.
Pull over. Then discuss how much you loved “Jersey Shore” last night. Better yet, try something really creative. Go to the person’s house and act it out.
When did high technology begin entrapping our lives in meaningless drivel?
Go to PNC Park. Watch how many people pull out their cell phones and call somebody to tell them that if they flip on their televisions, they just might be able to see them. There are now people across the country forced to watch baseball games, just to get a glimpse of somebody who lives in their house.
That’s high technology put to good use?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve glared at people engaged in loud cell phone conversations that were more meaningless than the collective peace of mind of the people around them.
Then there’s this “texting” business. Soon nobody will be able to use a pen. They’ll need some kind of a wallet-sized device to sign their own names.
It might not be long before some people will be unable to carry on primary face-to-face conversations with anybody without the benefit of an Internet connection. Won’t that be fun?
When I was 10, I had to ask for my parent’s permission to use the telephone. Kids are born today with iPods growing out of their ears.
I played basketball ’til I got leg cramps. They get carpal tunnel.
I had tetherball. They have X-Box.
I played kick ball. They no longer need feet.
OK, I’m finished with my tirade, other than to say, come on – get these kids outside and teach them how to play until you complain about their grass stains.
This generation needs a little shove into the world of exploration. Allow them to discover the wonders of something other than buttons on a desktop.
Technology, with all of its advances, hasn’t necessarily advanced our ability to communicate on a personal level, has it?
I can imagine (I developed the ability to imagine stuff when I was in grade school) that if this keeps up, we will have created a world where teenagers won’t be able to fully express themselves.
Well, maybe that’s a bad example.
Teenagers have always had their own set of problems in the area self-expression. But you get my point.
There was a time when dining rooms were the largest and most important areas in our homes. The family would sit down at dinner and discuss their days while doing something that’s in short supply these days. We talked while looking at each other.
Those days are gone. We take pride in our enormous living rooms, filled with space age technology that begs to be accessed with the flip of a switch.
All of this is to the detriment of inter-personal relationships that have been shoved into a box.
Edward A. Owens is a three-time Emmy Award winner and 20-year veteran of television news. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net
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