It's hard to imagine what my schooldays would have been like if I had a smart phone. I didn't even have a landline never mind a smart phone. It meant that I very much lived in a boarding-house bubble, completely removed from the outside world. There was no TV or radio or newspapers so world events passed me by. We were discouraged from wandering around the adjacent town so there was little chance of making outside friends.
If I was at school now and I had a smart phone, above all that would connect me to the outside world. I could keep up with world events, check out websites that interested me, keep in touch with my family, get advice on personal problems. But at the same time I would have access to all sorts of undesirable websites promoting porn or anorexia or racism or dangerous drugs or simply plausible misinformation.
On balance I think that despite the deprivations I experienced I probably had a healthier childhood without a smart phone and without all the hazards it would have presented me with. I could enjoy simple pleasures like reading and walking without being glued to that beguiling little screen.
And there was something to be said for not being constantly in touch with my family and all their oddities.
Children seem to be missing out on play. When I was a kid the neighborhood kids were outside all day during summer, playing and getting into mischief. We also learned how to resolve differences, although sometimes those differences did end in battle. But even that was a lesson learned. Winter, we skated, went sledding, built snow forts, got into snowball fights. Do kids do this anymore. I don't know, but I doubt it. Alas, I think it's here to stay.
ReplyDeleteSandra: A lot of today's kids seem to be kept indoors most of the time to avoid external dangers like traffic and drug dealers. When I was young, children played in the street all the time and there wasn't any sense of lurking dangers. Traffic was still very light in those days, which helped.
DeleteI haven't observed any negative effects on grandgirl and she's had one just about all her life and I was intrinsic to her childhood and growing up. In fact I have seen it as a huge asset to her friendships and education and curiosity in the bigger world. She's seen most of the world already. So I would politely disagree.
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www: I'm glad to know grandgirl has no problems with her smart phone and that it's been a great benefit. I guess it partly depends on how each person uses their phone.
DeleteI definitely think we were more independent, due to the lack of technology. You had to figure out things for yourself AND your parents weren’t keeping tabs on you.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Definitely more independent. I whizzed around the neighbourhood on my scooter and my parents weren't worried about what I was up to.
DeleteFrom kindergarten through 4th grade we lived on a street that was only two blocks long so crossing the street was safe but we still didn't play in it. We did freely roam the neighborhood, though. We played outside unless it was raining and, sometimes, even then. When the weather was bad, we played a lot of card games; I learned to play Canasta before my hands were big enough to hold all the cards.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: My granny knew loads of card games but I didn't share her enthusiasm and I never learnt to play any of them except Patience.
DeleteI only have a smart phone now as i need it for bank transactions. It stays at home and very few people have the number. I don't like the idea of being continually available.
ReplyDeleteI see the point of enlarging the world, but it is only enlarging a world as seen by those controlling the media, not the real world you encounter as a child, roaming about with your friends.
Anon: Good point about the real world being what you do with your friends, not the media version of what's happening.
DeleteI’m grateful I grew up without one - I was a gullible kid!
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Ms Scarlet: Yes, I think I would have fallen for a few dodgy click-baits too.
DeleteDefinitely a healthier childhood without one. But impossible to deny your child one these days.
ReplyDeleteLiz: That about sums it up. Kids want to fit in and nowadays that means owning a smart phone.
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