The Tech Takeover that’s being Ignored

Kids these days are steeped in technology. From birth, they are wholly bombarded by all manner of devices offering any number of improvements and advantages.

I think it’s gone too far however. As I looked around the playground the other day I was overwhelmed by the prevalence of one particular technology. And I think the way it’s robbing kids of important skills is being patently overlooked.

The piece of technology I’m talking about isn’t new. And it certainly wasn’t invented for kids, even though so many of them have them. The way things often go in the world of technological invention, it was originally a utilitarian piece of gadgetry that has been reinvented and/or repurposed numerous times.

And now, we don’t think twice about giving them to our kids. Actually, we’re probably as excited to give our kids their first ones as they are to get them.

After all they do offer so many conveniences and advantages. You can take them with you anywhere and they certainly seem like a good idea from a safety standpoint. Plus kids need so little direction on how to use them and are self-sufficient operating them so quickly it hardly seems worth considering the downsides.

But there are downsides. What about the coordination and motor skills that get overlooked because a quick flash of the fingers can provide the same result? What about the face-to-face interaction with adults that’s lost when kids don’t need to come to them for guidance or assistance? Or what about the ease with which kids learn to undo the safe guards the parent has put in place?

The stunning ubiquity of these pieces of technology alone should give one pause to consider the consequences of our circumstance. Are they changing the way our kids think? Are they changing the way we think?

By now I’m sure you know what piece of ever-present technology I’m talking about: Velcro shoes.

I hear a lot of griping nowadays about cell phones. Mostly from myself. But I started to wonder what a 30-somethings geezer (like myself) in the 1960s might have seen as the mark that technology (or our reliance on it) has gone too far. Enter Velcro shoes.

That boat has clearly sailed. Most people have had or their kids or grandkids currently have the famous hook and loop fastener equipped shoes. We certainly do and it sure makes getting ready to leave a heck of a lot easier.

But that’s how these things start. Technology offers convenience and we’re all too eager to accept that convenience without considering our part of that transaction. Maybe it’s giving up the skill of tying knots in the case of shoes. Maybe it’s giving up some privacy in the case of cell phones and social media. Or maybe it’s giving in to an entirely new way of thinking.

Who knows. But the next time you see a pair of Velcro shoes, take a moment to think about some of this. Goodness knows you’ll come across a pair soon.