First of all, I realize there is
some irony in my giving this advice on a blog.
And this is definitely one of those instances where “do as I say and not
as I do” comes into play (but I am trying to take my own advice). Second, I realize that this is tough advice
during the Christmas season, when you are bound to get any number of electronic
things to “play” with. Lastly, I realize
that I have a tendency (as do many people my age) to get a little preachy about
this, so I apologize before-hand.
Nevertheless, let’s get into
it. It is amazing to me to see how
connected we all are to our phones these days.
People sitting side-by-side, totally engrossed in a small screen, with
ear buds in their ears. They are
oblivious to the world around them, and to each other. We’ve all seen the videos of people looking
at their cell phones, and walking into lamp-posts, etc. We’ve also heard stories of people who are so
“trusting” of their car navigation system that they end up in lakes or on
railroad tracks. These stories are
funny, yet incredibly sad at the same time.
Throw in the amount of snarkiness and search for self-esteem that people
exhibit on Facebook and other social media.
Add the time spent playing video games or watching TV/Streaming
media. The result is increasing
isolation that is masked by electronic connections.
The American Academy of Pediatrics
has some recommendations regarding screen
time. They discuss time limits,
media-free times and media-free zones all of which seem like reasonable and
healthy recommendations. Let’s look at
play time and physical activity. When I
was a kid (you knew that phrase was coming!) I remember playing “kick the can”, “capture the
flag”, “red
light / green light”, and “red
rover”. These games developed
thinking skills, social skills, motor skills, and were just plain fun! I also remember riding my bike: building jumps, trying to pop a wheelie, and
racing friends. Once again while
building friendships and having fun I was improving gross and fine motor
skills, learning physics (how to build a jump), and learning how to cope with
failures (and road rash). So, what’s the
difference between these and the media games kids love? While fine motor control and response time
may be improved with video games, there are definite differences with number of
calories burned/general health and social connectedness. There is also a difference in learning about
risk. If I “risk” in a video game, the
worst that will happen is I “lose a life” and have to start over. And if its multi-player, my friends get mad –
but there is no real loss. If I
mis-judge my bike jump, the consequences of that risk are a little deeper than
the video game. Yet in some ways, the younger
generations have become more risk-averse.
(Granted, this is due to a lot more than video games!)
We
played “soldier” and “cowboys and Indians” with toy guns and dirt clod hand
grenades. There was no blood and gore
associated with it (unless there was a rock in the dirt clod). There was always honor associated with it
(fighting the bad guys, rescuing the oppressed, etc.). It wasn’t about the killing, it was about
being the soldier or cowboy, or hero. Contrast
that with the current video games, most of which seem to revolve around
shooting as many people as you can and/or stealing as many cars as you
can. As far as I know (no, I have not
played call of duty or grand theft auto or any of the other games, so I could
be wrong) it is all about killing and making money. Our games fired our imagination. It required that we take mundane objects and –
with our mind – turn them into spectacular props for our play. It required compromise: “Let’s do a frontal
assault” – “no, let’s try to take them from behind”. It also didn’t take up the amount of time video
games can suck out of our lives. I do
remember as a late 20’s newly married man getting WAAYY to engrossed in a
computer game. My wife rightly called me
to accountability and reminded me that my new marriage was MUCH more important
to spend time on than some space-conquering game. It seems many of us (young and old) need a
reminder of that these days. All too
often we find ourselves in the same room with family or friends, each one of us
absorbed in our own digital world.
Electronics
and the internet can certainly be a blessing.
We have access to unlimited information.
Problem is, that leads to us believing something without verifying it. It also leads to us not having to think for
ourselves. Its too easy too look up something
rather than to mull it over (or better yet talk it over) and come to a decision
on our own. By all means, then check
that decision! But at least MAKE one instead
of letting someone else make it for you.
So,
let me make a few suggestions, in keeping with the AAP. First, limit the time you spend on
electronics. Turn off the TV. Maybe even take an extended (i.e. 3-6 months)
from TV. You’d be surprised how fun
reading and playing games and just talking can be! Don’t be so tied to your cell phone. Set times that you will check e-mail and
texts or return calls. If someone REALLY
needs to talk to you, they’ll manage to get the message to you, don’t
worry. Maybe even consider leaving your
phone at home! (Believe it or not, there
was a time when phones were “tied” to our homes and didn’t go everywhere with
us – and we survived!). Give up (or at
least take a break) from the video games.
Trust me, there are many more productive things you could be doing! Finally, establish some “no electronic”
zones. Mealtime (whether at home or the
restaurant) is a good choice. Bathrooms
are another good choice (a pet peeve of mine is people talking on the phone
while in the bathroom – not very considerate of those they are talking too, or
others in the restroom!) And finally,
how about writing a letter instead of texting someone (which will be our next topic!).
Now
that you’re done reading this blog, turn off your computer and go spend some
time with someone face-to-face! Merry
Christmas.
