So Young, and So Gadgeted >> a peek inside the fishbowl

12 Jun, 2008

So Young, and So Gadgeted

Posted by andrea in: Yaktivism

“EVERYONE knows that babies crawl before they walk, and that tricycles come before two-wheelers. But at what age should children get their first cellphone, laptop or virtual persona?” … read the rest at at the NYTimes.com. This piece is mostly just a list of what kind of new toys are out there for kids of certain ages/stages. But it makes me wonder. What kind of people will they become when they grow up, when they’ve been raised on these loud blinking gadgets that give little more than an electronic payoff … ?

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2 Responses to "So Young, and So Gadgeted"

1 | MomOnTheGo

June 13th, 2008 at 6:52 am

I’m thinking they’ll be instant gratification junkies. Reid is only 3 and has no fear when it comes to trying out *my* gadgets (Blackberry, iPod, laptop) but is equally happy with her cardboard Blackberry that I picked up a trade show and pretending to be a business woman. We rarely let her play on the computer, not that she asks often, since we have many books, blocks, puzzles, etc. Kids computer games make me motion sick and I can’t believe even the video is good for her.

2 | Scattered Mom

June 13th, 2008 at 6:32 pm

Personally, I don’t think that any of the electronic gadgets are necessary.

You heard right: none.

Working in a high school I see so many kids that isolate themselves from being plugged into some electronic device, that none of them socialize. Instead they’re back to the old “parallel play” that they did when they were 2.

Saying that cell phones are “mandatory” for teens is ridiculous. My son doesn’t have one and I have no intention of buying one. In fact, my position is that if he wants the gadget, he can get a job and buy his own.

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