Interesting fact about Kristen:
I'm a little bit leery of the influence and impact technology has in my life. I oftentimes wish I could purge a great deal of unnecessary technologies from my life, but I lack the commitment and gumption to just do it. And I'm a bit of a hypocrite about it too, because while I hate how distracting my smart phone is, I absolutely love being able to write down some of my random thoughts and then share them with people on this blog.
Lately I've been doing some thinking about what the consequences will be for a child being raised by a parent with a significant online presence, ie. Mommy bloggers. Honestly, I can't think of many pros to this situation, in fact, I can only really fathom the following possibility:
Or this sad incident:
Am I just being dramatic? Has this thought crossed anyone's mind before?
I think we often forget how new and uncharted the role technology plays in our life is. I like to think that I remember my childhood really well and can thus relate to kids these days, but in all actuality I really have no clue. I have no idea what it would be like to have my mom constantly zoning out on her phone, because my mom never did that. In fact, my mom never had a cell phone until I was probably 14 or 15 and it wasn't even a smart phone. I have no idea what it's like to have my mom snapping pictures of me and then posting them on Instagram so that everyone in my life knows what I'm up to. My mom took pictures of me, but the only people who've ever seen them are the lucky folks who've got to peak through my scrapbook. I have no idea what it's like to be the topic of a blog that I don't even really know exists let alone understand the scope of the audience reading it. The only people who knew jack squat about my life while I was growing up were the people who asked me, the people who played a role in it like coaching, and the people my mom spoke to. That's it.
Would I feel jealous of the phone my mom gives so much attention to? Would I feel overwhelmed by having someone I barely know ask me if I had fun swimming on the weekend? Would I feel completely violated upon realizing that my precious childhood is up for entertainment on the world-wide web?
What do you think? What will be the consequences of raising a child saturated in technology?
I'm a little bit leery of the influence and impact technology has in my life. I oftentimes wish I could purge a great deal of unnecessary technologies from my life, but I lack the commitment and gumption to just do it. And I'm a bit of a hypocrite about it too, because while I hate how distracting my smart phone is, I absolutely love being able to write down some of my random thoughts and then share them with people on this blog.
Lately I've been doing some thinking about what the consequences will be for a child being raised by a parent with a significant online presence, ie. Mommy bloggers. Honestly, I can't think of many pros to this situation, in fact, I can only really fathom the following possibility:
Or this likelihood:
Am I just being dramatic? Has this thought crossed anyone's mind before?
I think we often forget how new and uncharted the role technology plays in our life is. I like to think that I remember my childhood really well and can thus relate to kids these days, but in all actuality I really have no clue. I have no idea what it would be like to have my mom constantly zoning out on her phone, because my mom never did that. In fact, my mom never had a cell phone until I was probably 14 or 15 and it wasn't even a smart phone. I have no idea what it's like to have my mom snapping pictures of me and then posting them on Instagram so that everyone in my life knows what I'm up to. My mom took pictures of me, but the only people who've ever seen them are the lucky folks who've got to peak through my scrapbook. I have no idea what it's like to be the topic of a blog that I don't even really know exists let alone understand the scope of the audience reading it. The only people who knew jack squat about my life while I was growing up were the people who asked me, the people who played a role in it like coaching, and the people my mom spoke to. That's it.
Would I feel jealous of the phone my mom gives so much attention to? Would I feel overwhelmed by having someone I barely know ask me if I had fun swimming on the weekend? Would I feel completely violated upon realizing that my precious childhood is up for entertainment on the world-wide web?
What do you think? What will be the consequences of raising a child saturated in technology?
I wish you never would have made me think about this....
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry Chanel - I'm the worst!! Hahah
DeleteI don't know I sort of have mixed feelings about this. I guess it just depends on what you are blogging for? I love my blog and I guess it would be classified as a "Mommy blog," but I don't keep a journal and so it IS my journal. I don't care how many people read it, and I'm more than certain most people would find it extremely boring and I'm totally okay with that. It is also the reason why my blog is private and only my close friends and family are invited to read it. As far as instagram, maybe some people hate it, but I personally love it. I can't even count how many times Joe and I sit down and look at all the old pictures together and laugh at how cute our kids were. I guess its all about how you look at it. Am I guilty of posting a picture because I think my child is extremely cute in that moment - yes. And do I get excited when I have a few comments that agree with me - yes. Ha ha. But, I think for the most part, it really is all for Joe and I and our family. And I also LOVE looking through and seeing what my friends and other family members are doing. LOVE it!! I do agree that we all could be a little better about being in the moment more and putting our phones down. But I also think that if our parents were blessed with the technology that we are blessed with then they would be doing the same thing. I'm sure our Grandparents were annoyed beyond reason that our Mom's watched so many darn soap operas. Sometimes I just laugh when older people comment on how terrible our generation is but I'm sure that their parents thought the same about them. And also, they raised us! Anyways, this is getting extremely long and I guess this blog post did exactly what it was supposed to do - made me think ha. So sorry that I just wrote an epistle....
ReplyDeleteOkay - if I was to have stopped and thought about which moms are doing the whole social media thing right, you'd probably be at the top of my list. It's really obvious that you use both your blog and instagram as a form of journalling (both of which that I love to follow, but I always forget to check private blogs because nothing tells me when they're updated). Your blog is private so your kids are protected that way, and I believe your instagram is too. I guess this post was mostly aimed at blogs and instagram accounts that aren't private where the kids play a major part of the subject matter. I think that if kids are going to be a big topic, the account should be private. And another big part of this post I'm realizing was just me speaking out loud trying to figure out if Sheriff is going to have any role on my blog. Probably not. She'll probably just be on instagram, and I'm going to make my account private right now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, you made me think and now I know what I'm doing!
DeleteYa I totally understand! And I totally agree with you! If kids are going to be the topic, then it is SO important that they are protected! And when you do make your insta-acount private, please add me! Sherriff is too cute!
DeleteI think you brought up a good point. It's a different world our children are being raised in and it's important to think about the future - especially their future. Love your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteHmm....you have given me some things to think about. Makes me more grateful that I haven't discussed my children's lives on my blog. I just finished reading this great book and I think you would love it. It's all about raising kids in this age of technology and has a chapter for each phase of childhood development, including babies. It talks about how a foundational belief that a baby needs to form is, "I am an individual who is loved" and they form this by having focused interaction with eye contact and physical touch. This can be hard in our multi tasking age of technology. Here's a link to the book but you're welcome to borrow my copy anytime, http://catherinesteineradair.com/books/the-big-disconnect/
ReplyDeleteOk, I should revise. I do mention and speak of my kids on my blog sometimes, although they are not the focus. But I would like to be more mindful of this in the future. That being said, my favorite blog to read is all about motherhood. I love reading about all the ups and downs of this mother's life. She is so open and real about it all. It inspires, comforts and uplifts me as a mother. She has such a positive impact on the world by sharing her life this way and I'm grateful she does it. I've never really thought about some of the cons for her children though. Maybe for some families, they are taking the risk to be open and vulnerable like that because they feel like it's worth it and that they can do a lot of good by sharing like that. Maybe that kind of trust and openness is something the world needs too. Just some thoughts.
DeleteSo True! I think about this all the time.
ReplyDeleteI have thought about this actually and I think it will be so awkward for kids of famous mommy blogs when they grow up. I think someday you should commit to cutting out some form of technology because it's AWESOME and I think you'd appreciate it. I haven't had a cell phone since I moved to Canada, so for four months, and I love it! I can afford to do that though because I'm a hermit it Glenwood haha. It may not be so easy if you have more of a social life. I do so spend way too much time on the internet, but still! I highly recommend :)
ReplyDelete