Sunday 12 June 2016

Day 6 #blogjune - Device Driven Society aka technologically connected social butterflies

So taking yet another topic from Sharon's daily blogging, but putting my own twist, is about being device driven.  I have 4 children, ranging in age from 24 to 5, so there has been a huge change in the way they have accessed, used and observed technology.  I remember first getting a computer at home when Miss 24 was 3 (!!!) and we had this marvellous OS called Windows 95. Her kindergarten photo (when she was 5) has the obligatory "holding the phone shot" and she is using a dial up phone. Mr 21 has a kinder photo with a similar phone, whereas Mr 16 is using a cordless phone. Master 5's kinder photo didn't even have one with a phone! I reflect on this sometimes and realise the my younger 2 children do not know a time without mobiles, digital cameras and computers (I changed from a film camera to a digital one when Mr 16 was 3).  Master 5 does not know life pre iPads and still cannot understand why, when watching TV, he can't just go to another episode of Octonauts or Transformers or skip the ads (thanks to downloads, streaming, YouTube, Netflix and Stan, oh my!).

We have so many devices and computers in our house (not helped by the fact that hubby is an IT Manager and my role covers technology) so it is possible that we would be more device driven than usual, regardless of changes in society. I have often referred to myself as a technologically connected social butterfly :) and I look around my home and can see us all on some kind of device or technology enabled entertainment (ie PS4, TV, Gameboy DS etc) but I think Mr 16 is the one that is truly "always on his phone" - I swear it is glued to his hands! We try a lot for balance and Master 5 is limited and needs to do other things (aka play with his toys, which is no hardship on his part), but will this enforcement get harder as he gets older and his peers are more connected? Or will we see a reversal where people start to rely less on social media?

1 comment:

Rachel said...

I have the same issues around watching tv on tv, recorded tv and on the tablet with Miss A. I have tried to explain it to her by saying that everyone has different favourite tv shows so they have to put only 1 episode of each on at a time so that everyone gets to see their favourites. We also have the issue of not being able to pause 'live' tv so she can go to the toilet.
The other night we had changed to another channel before Miss A went to bed and she asked whether her shows had finished on tv and on the tablet. I lied and said yes. She hasn't quite grasped the 24/7 availability of ABC for kids iview just yet and I'm in no hurry to explain it to her.