Thursday 7th September

I have nine grandchildren – so far.  The first three are all young adults now.  They grew up with TV and computers around but apart from a mild obsession with Playstation games they don’t seem to have been too affected by modern technology.  They are, as is almost everyone nowadays (yes, even us oldies) fairly computer savvy, used to using the internet and social media but not obsessed by it.  The younger five (one is still a baby, so can be excused) though, seem to me to be pretty obsessed by computers, i-pads and especially mobile phones.  They range from ages 4 to 8 and since they were quite young have been fascinated by this new technology.

But looking around they are by no means unique.  You see it on buses and in restaurants – young children, some barely able to walk staring at a screen and swiping and pressing buttons.  To some degree we are all obsessed.  Even the news is now presented as a computer screen (Outside Source), and tweets from mad Presidents are given more creedence than measured speeches.  We all watch less TV and spend more time on Social Media.  And it is fantastic.  Unimaginable even a few years ago; you post a photo and in seconds you have likes and smiley faces back from people, some of whom you barely know at all.

But young children just accept these things as normal, as just a different toy really.  Maybe we shouldn’t be concerned.  I am sure our parents were worried about our obsession with television – I certainly tried to ration it with my son.  It is the motivation of parents I worry about more.  I have heard parents say that they give their very young children the i-pad or their phone to keep them quiet.  Maybe this is no worse than sitting them in front of the tv, or as I used to, sticking my son in his playpen with a few toys while I prepared the dinner.  But I do worry sometimes, there is already some evidence that children using the internet regularly do not remember things.  They don’t need to because the computer does it for them.

I suppose that only time will tell.  And there may be far more to worry about then; we may all be microchipped, or have screen-lenses fitted into our eyes.  Technology will not stop or slow down, we just have to learn how to use it sensibly.