I tease and poke fun of my mom for barely knowing how to turn on her cell phone or recover a voice message; however, this does not make her any less smart or less of a person. On the contrary, she is perhaps more comfortable in her ability to create and maintain healthy balanced relationships without feeling the only method is via texting or over the internet....hell, she can even read my blog! My point is this: I have been struggling a lot lately trying to find a balance between too much and too little technology/media in my home. It is very hard for me to do this because I benefit from technology on a daily and hourly basis...but I also see it "getting in the way" of where I want to be and where I want to go with my family. Is it a realistic hope that my family in the future will leave their phones and gadgets for us to have a meal together?...or has that time gone and lost forever? God, I hope not.
So here is a slice of what I've got going on at home, we have: speakers throughout the house for music, we have one large tv in the basement family room, a desktop computer with two monitors, two cell phones, MacBook air laptop, fancy shmancy camera, a media server to connect all of these through the house. Nate's work also recently got him an iPad and a Kindle. Like I said, I benefit and am blessed to have these bits of luxury; but I frequently wonder what is really necessary to have. Last night, my husband and I were sitting in front of the tv while he was on his iPad and I was on the MacBook air...visualizing this again makes me want to laugh...AND cry. Let me be clear with something: technology and all of it's gadgets are NOT inherently bad. What can become a problem is how, and how often we use technology and whether or not there is a balance in life and our relationships. Recently, my neighbors decided to have one whole night absolutely free from any/all forms of media. Now I have no idea whose idea it was and if there was any resistance to it...but what a great idea. I mean really...what did we used to do before all of this? Talk, play cards, play games, take walks...are those no longer fun activities for people? I know I'm being dramatic here, but have we lost "the good ole days" of face to face human connection?
One of the most important thing for me right now is trying to figure out how to set good examples for Mia. We all know that there is a lot of valid research out there encouraging families to limit a child's exposure to tv, computers, etc. One of the considerations is that it can indirectly encourage isolation and limit their social development if they participate in these activities by themselves. I would hate to have Mia come home from school one day and hesitate sharing a story with me because she is worried that it would interrupt my chatting, texting or typing, etc. Of course, I would drop everything in a second for her and would never want her to feel "not good enough" for my undivided attention. But at what point might she just stop trying if she constantly sees us on or with some form of media/technology? Am I alone in my worries, are they totally illogical, am I off base here?
When did the concern about social development and life balance NOT become a consideration for us adults as well?
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