Information Age

So I was watching my first Saturday morning television in a LOOOONG time – wow, not quite what I remember it being like. I remember Saturday mornings being full of cartoons, starting at about 7:30 or 8:00 with the G.I.Joe + Transformers 1-2 punch. This was usually followed up by a flurry of different cartoons from Astroboy to the Smurfs, to name but two of the 10 or so. I’d often call an intermission for a few quick games of Nintendo before it was back at the shows again with a second round (often a set of re-runs but still watched none the less) of G.I.Joe + Transformers. Only when the bell rang for lunch did I actually make it out of the house to play for the later part of the day – knowing full well that Sunday morning, chock full of its own cartoons, was just around the corner.

So this Satuday I tuned in – not quite sure what I’d get, but assuming it was going to be something similar. Nope. This Saturday was jam packed with a ‘new’ type of action. I say new because the programs have been around for a while, but to my knowledge (which of Saturday morning programming is admittedly pretty sketchy at best) they never played on Saturday mornings. I’m talking about episodes of shows like Baywatch and Knight Rider, intermingled with random episodes of The Simpsons. The only kids program I could find was Sponge Bob.

Keep in mind here that I don’t have cable – if I did I know I could find Donald and Daffy Duck and Barney shows to my heart’s content (actually only about 2 minutes of those shows would be enough for me, but you get my drift).

Now I’m not sure what that really means. Is it a good thing that kids are watching these types of programs on Saturday morning? I’m no psychiatrist, but me thinks not. Are they outside playing in the streets more? Not very likely. Do kids even WATCH tv on Saturdays any more – or are they too busy playing online computer games, visiting chatrooms in cyberspace, or finding wormholes in Windows Vista? Probably.

I just got one of the latest gadgets – a pocket PC that combines a PDA and a PC. It’s got the full GPS navigation too (it really is sweet – I don’t know how I’ve made it this far without it!). I’ve also seen the internet offered over the mobile phone frequencies – all you do is get a little USB stick from your mobile provider, activate the right plan, and you can get internet on any computer anywhere in the world (depending on coverage and subject to phone call rates). Sweet.

Why these random thoughts? Well it’s come to my attention recently that many of my friends and relatives have had, are having, or are busy trying to ‘make’ babies. Kudos to all for trying, and good luck to those who succeed. I’m all about the family and kids (sorry Mom – no news for now :o) but I find it daunting to try to raise a child in today’s world. With the information that’s at everyone’s finger tips it’s totally changing the way children grow and form into people and ‘functioning’ adults.

In the history of human kind there’s never been an information age that comes anywhere near to this. Cave paintings? People were more worried about their next meal than raising their kids right so they’ll grow up to be good cave-people. Smoke signals? Doesn’t really count for disseminating information and influencing the publc. Snail mail? Hardly registers on the radar. Telephones? Even though phones are all about chatting, have you ever heard of a chat group over the telephone – if you’ve ever been on a conference call you know phones don’t work this way. Television? These broke new grounds in communication, but with the flick of a switch it’s off, and it took years for the tv to really catch on – for most of it’s life it’s been a few programs, mostly on in the evenings. Ease of travel with planes and trains today? I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to randomly let my kids get on a plane or train without my permission. Computers and Email?

So in today’s information age parents must constantly be on the lookout for what their children are watching, hearing, saying, and doing. Now more than ever there are strangers virtually right there in your home and in the faces of kids. I’m not saying not to go with the information age – it’s incredible what creative powers can be unleashed in the right environment or harnessed for the right cause. Of that there’s no doubt. And tackling today’s most daunting problem (the poor condition of our environment) wouldn’t be possible if we still communicated via smoke signals. But todays parents, unlike any others before them, are faced with the challenge not of filtering the information their children get, but rather molding how their children will filter information for themselves. It’s a shame to see kids with poor filters today :o(