Why is it that there are days that I want to scream from the mountaintop and other days I want to lay low in the valley? There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason although they both hurt equally when I realize that we aren’t meant to scream or to hide. I remember growing up in a day that we were not bombarded with every bit of information out there. We were able to get away from the every care of the world, enter our homes and be still. Playing outside with friends, waiting until the streetlights came on and dinners that didn’t come out of a bag, that was my childhood. All was not perfect though, some of us had deaths, cancer and abuse but as children we were limited to the amount of grief and information that was deemed healthy by our parents.
Today’s children are raised differently, really by no fault of society, parents or their own! They live in a world where the news never stops. That means playing out in the street is dangerous, dinners out of a bag allows parents to drive their children to their many events and the death, cancer and abuse? That is everywhere whether it be in video games, social media or the television, all seem never to shut off. Babies that know how to swipe a phone with their finger to get to the next app, level or photo are being raised in a day and age where they will never know what it is like to be unplugged. Schools even come to a halt when the internet is down! Children are diagnosed with every kind of anxiety, allergy and behavior disorder and parents are grasping at straws to keep it all together knowing that even marriages are disposable and a majority of them statistically won’t make it.
This is a heavy order for all of us to take in. Technology is not evil, the world is not evil, it is just different. I often remark that my parents didn’t know where I was from 6am to 6pm but they trusted the people and the neighborhood to keep me from harm. They trusted that the roots they planted in me would be what would keep me from wavering and most of all they trusted the world that they lived in. My parents trusted that when I said I was going to Jami’s house that is where I went! There wasn’t a way for them to gps me or to text me, they could have called but I am guessing they never did. I knew that if I lied to them that there would be a breakdown of trust and I didn’t want to know what the consequences would have been. Now, did I ever go where I wasn’t supposed to? Probably! I of course would have been caught or found out but today’s kids have not only their parents watching their every move but also society and the world.
There is an ecard floating around that states “I am so thankful I did all my stupid stuff before the internet!” How true! No evidence could ever have been found unless my teacher or parent found a note that was written about what happened! Film had to be developed and even then some photos were so grainy that they were thrown away! I, as a 44 year old, feel such pressure at times to look a certain way, say the right words or to own the perfect thing so I can’t imagine the stress that is put on our children. Famous people instagramming their outfits every day, snapchats that show your every move, twitter that tells everyone in just a few sentences what you are doing, who you are with and what you think of any topic in the world! Scroll through Facebook and you will see the real pain and heartache that is being thrown out to the world just hoping that someone will catch that heartache and care enough about the author that they will reach out and help them.
Back in the 70’s and 80’s we were excited to go to school, excited to see our friends, anticipate what each other was wearing or the plans we would make. Passing notes and talking for hours in the hall about all of life’s strife were the foundation of who we were and who we would become. Most of us didn’t have phones in our own rooms let alone in our pockets! Conversations were held in a common area and EVERYONE in the house could hear your conversation! Yes, most of us girls created our own code words for things and most of us begged and got a long extension cord for the phone so we could stretch it out…we thought life was grand once cordless phones came in but even then someone could pick up the other end and hear what we were saying!
Back then I am sure that we thought what we were saying was nothing short of government secrets and hated that others could snoop in but now our children have free reign on phones being able to talk, text and photograph their whole lives for the world to see. What stress that must be. Kids are able to be “with” their friends at any time, Facetime allows them to see and talk to one another (just like we saw on the Jetson’s growing up). Their definition of “with” is different than ours and we must ask ourselves, “What’s wrong with that?”
I often hear from other adults that this generation won’t be able to read body language, hear tone of voice or be able to be present with others. I am trying to decide if this, although so different from our own experience, will be how their whole world will be and thus are they are just practicing for their adulthood? You see, my parents didn’t grow up with phones, mine did have for a time a Party Line but I wonder what they thought of how many hours we stayed on the phone. Mine certainly didn’t have a television as they listened to the radio for the news. School, like mine, was a place to have friends, learn the 3 R’s (2 of which don’t even start with the letter R!) and learn how to be a good friend.
We were able to relax, learn and play! Education is changing, yes, and it has too! Students can now get information instantly, they can fact check in a millisecond, they can create projects with a click of a button and all while never leaving their seats. No, they will never know the joy of a whisper only library, use a card catalog or spend hours actually photocopying, cutting to the right shape and gluing it on a piece of paper…copy/paste! Their future is one that is changing on a daily basis, we that are of a certain age will have to go with the flow but they will be the ones that challenge, change and truly affect the way their futures will be created.
So on my mountaintop I want to scream out “Slow Down” “Stop”, in my valley I want to crawl into a ball and wake up years from now to see what has become of my children and their generation. That is one thing I wish I had that my parents had, ease of mind that all will be fine. Not that they didn’t worry about us, cry over us and pray for us, but they weren’t bombarded with all the things that “could” happen to us, so they let us play, they didn’t have to try and “protect” us from the world so they let us explore and skin our knees, they didn’t have to shield us from the evil in the world as our world was smaller back then. Not all better just smaller.
In the days, weeks, and years to come I want to slow down my own pace, I want to cherish the moments that will become memories, I want to encourage those I love to explore, wander and to get lost in the beauty that is life. Don’t hide from the world but be brave and confident that through all of these changes we have each other and we have love.
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