|
Family Health Blog: The Real Life - Virtual Life Barometer
Yesterday evening just before dinner, my husband walked into my study and noted that our two ten-year-olds were perched in front of their mini-computer screens, each in their own rooms. Not only that, my husband and I too were perched in our studies in front of screens, possibly not logged into The Penguin Club as our kids were, but still in front of screens.
I think it would be reasonable to say that if you were the fly on the wall in modern family homes either in Scandinavia or in America, you would at certain times of day observe this scenario. The question is, should we be concerned about it? Is it unhealthy?
I have to admit it, my computer is like my right arm. I don't venture far from home without it. It is my main working instrument, as it is for my husband. In order to participate in a modern economy, we need to use them. I am old enough to remember what it was like to produce a university thesis on a typewriter and I can definitely say that a computer is preferable to white-out, although I still hold my typewriter in high esteem.
I sometimes wonder whether from our children's point of view, this just looks like my husband and I are having fun all day. No matter how much we'd like to believe that our children have a wide range of role models, it is still parents that children take their cues from most. Watching the pattern of our days from a child's perspective, it might not be hard for a child to conclude that having fun on a computer is the thing to do.
There are experts who argue in favor of the chaos theory when it comes to computers (check books written by Douglas Rushkoff, for instance). That is, children and teenagers need to be allowed to muddle their way through cyberworld in order to become well-integrated members of a future society. A part of me agrees with that.
Another part of me looks at the evidence presented by medical science concerning the ill health of children due to the mental effects of screens and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. The latest this week is that young children seem to be increasingly vulnerable to asthma due to increasing time sitting in front of screens (TV in this case - Thorax Journal, UK).
Since I've spent a considerable amount of time reading to children and running summer camps, I'm acutely aware of the anti-social effects that screens can have on kids (screens are in some cases all they can think of). It is terrible to see and experience a child whose instincts tell them that screen life is more interesting than real life.
Whatever, we do, we've got a hot potato on our hands when it comes to screens. As a parent, I think it pays off considerably not to underestimate the consequences of computer (and TV) use in a child's life, both positive and negative.
Balance is always a difficult idea to realize in life, but it is what is needed - always. Perhaps a useful barometer could be what I am calling the Real Life - Virtual Life barometer. If the indicator is swinging too far over into virtual (that is, virtual life is becoming more important than real for your child), it is time to step in with the most positive thoughts you can muster to make it swing back again.
2 comments:
resume writers | December 05, 2011 The clients believe our resume service cause they are very reliable! This organization performs resume writing service to fit the precise area of research you wish. SallyCaldwell | December 04, 2011 Wow, this beyond doubt cleared some things up. One essay i am having complication with is a definition for an "who we are" The teacher says that we will have to drive beneath into ourselves and see what we really are. But I think it would be more usefulto use <a href=" http://www.thesisleader.com";>buy thesis</a>.
|
|
