As a parent we all want the very best for our children, and in this fast paced world where technology is changing at a seemingly exponential rate, the impact of technology on our children and a young family’s life can be substantial.
One moment your seemingly innocent 10 or 11 year old is holding group chats with school friends using their school iPad, and it raisies the questions of ‘How do they know to set this up’, ‘who are these people on the other end’ ‘How often are they using it’ ‘Is the school policing this during school time’ ‘Do the parents of the other children know their children are on line’ amongst a whole host of other natural curiosities.
From iPads, iPods, iPhones, Youtubers,Clash of Clans to Minecraft, the list of digital distractions are growing, from the number of devices, the ways to access content to the vast array of content themselves. I cant believe it when I see my kids on YouTube watching OTHER gamers play the game. Wouldn’t you rather play it yourself at least?
Being a parent of 4 young children, I have observed this behaviour a lot over the last 12 months, as peer pressure has brought this reality home. The digital phenomenon is so readily accessible and somewhat instant, it seems to instil in a child a sense of entitlement to it that I am struggling to comprehend, given my own experiences as a child.
Before I get hailed down and ridiculed for being a cranky old man who needs to get with the times, I do get it.Youtubers are worth millions –Dan TDM is packing out the Opera House and my kids attended. So maybe there is something in it, and we need to recognise it’s the way of the word for this generation, and a stepping stone to the future. The tactile world we grew up in is no longer, yet its not a reason to starve our children of the new way of doing things, for they need to compete in the real word as it develops.
Matthew Herrett is a partner at Link Property Services and works out of both Links Silverwater and Alexandria offices.