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Growing up in the late 1990’s to early 2000’s gave me some of the fondest memories I have. We did not have a phone calling us home. My friends and I stayed out until the street lights came on and found out where each other were by what bikes were on the front lawn. This time also gave me some of the hobbies I still enjoy today such as football. One night, the street lights came on, and we had one final play. I was going to go out for a pass and hopefully come down with the ball. So, there I was running to the back of the end zone chasing after this ball, and lo and behold I dove and caught it we won! As I grow older however I notice less and less kids playing outside and more kids in the house playing video games. Does this mean the end of how kids traditionally grow up?

The sentimentalist in me says no, when I have kids they’ll be just as reckless and apt to playing outside as I was when I was younger. Even though I grew up in the weird in between where technology started to become utilized commonly in schools. However, I have siblings that are 6-10 years younger than I am and I can already see the changes happening right now. When my brother has friends over they usually stay indoors and play video games or watch television. To me, this is mind-boggling, my family lives in Portland, Maine. The state is one of the premier places for outdoorsmen/women to go and is one of the safest states to raise kids. So why not enjoy the setting, and appreciate what it has to offer?

This is where the realist in me comes in. As I get older I realize that things will always evolve and be different from the time I was brought up in. For my siblings, technology is not just a computer lab that they have once or twice a week. Such things as Ipads and computers are used widely in school as an everyday tool now. Phones are no longer just kept at home, they are taken with you and have a variety of functions. There is no need to read an encyclopedia if you can easily access such sites as Wikipedia. No need to own a calculator or a planner if those are supplied on a “smart” device. The device speeds up the process of gathering information, but does that make the wide use of technology in schools a good thing, and are kids really learning the material, and can they pay attention?

In high school psychology class, we had to have an end of the year experiment. We decided to test the saying that “If you write and look up the information in a book it will stick with you better if you just google it and type.” It turns out, this is true. The students we tested remembered the information they were asked to look up better if the wrote it down and used books better if the just googled the answer and typed it in their computer. This process has to deal with the developmental psychology idea of cementing information in your brain through repetition. There are not as many steps if the student just googles rather than physically search and write the information down by hand. It is clear to see that technology plays a role in educational development but what about social development?

Why would you make a phone call if you can send a text stating the exact same thing in two seconds? These little blurbs have revolutionized the way we communicate with each other but at a cost. Since the age of children acquiring cellphones has gotten younger and younger, they haven’t had time to develop the interpersonal skills needed in the job market or to build real world relationships. When I went home recently, I was talking to my brother who is 13 about where he wants to go to high school. When I would ask him “What do you see yourself doing in high school” “What are your goals?” My questions were met with a one-word response without looking away from his phone. To me this is indicative of the state of his peers across the country. Since they have grown up being able to send texts with texting language, they have not been able to develop the interpersonal skills such as reading body language or making eye contact that they will need in the future job market.

There will always be another technological breakthrough. Just think about how writing technology came about. First it was the invention of writing, which was followed by the printing press. Eventually, this lead us to word processors that enabled me to write this paper. Each of these advances were also polarizing like the usage of smart devices today.

In conclusion, while thinking about the topic I became aware of my personal generational bias. That no matter how this generation grows up, I will critique them constantly. So, in knowing that, I truthfully know that technology will play a very important role in the way that kids grow up. Whether it be bad or good, we all will have to wait and see.