Today’s children are growing up with new technologies that are creating new generation gaps. Not only do children today breed on Youtube and Facebook, but also their world includes with video chats, digital books, video games and the likes. This accelerating pace of technology, which the children are being exposed to, is creating huge generation gaps. Children, who are in their formative stages of development, are being exposed to so much in so little time that they are ageing fast & are losing out on their childhood. The place where this generation gap is most visible is in the way these kids communicate and make their entertainment choices. Studies have shown that children as young as eight and nine SMS more often than the teenagers do! The study also revealed that the newer generation; unlike their older peers, lack patience and expect an instant response from everyone they communicate with. Because this generation is being brought up in an instantaneous communication enriched world, they also expect their parents and teachers to give them quick replies.
Children today are thriving on the virtual world. Most of them have more friends in the virtual world than the real world. They are hooked to playing video games, love isolation but at the same time are actively socializing virtually, prefer chatting than talking on the phone, communicate effectively but at the same time find it difficult to express emotions etc.
A mother of an eight year old daughter revealed that her child’s life is shaped up by technologies and high tech gadgets. She knows nothing other than a world that is full of e-books, Skype video chats, and games on the iPhone! All these facts reveal that parents need to put certain restrictions on the technology usage patterns by their kids. Try and not expose your kids to such addictive gadgets at such an early age. It is important that your child learns to play cricket (for instance) than press buttons and makes runs!
