One Moment, Please… I’m praying for a rebellion

Nearly every generation rebels against their parents in some way, even with subtleties.  To me, the most notable rebellion is what resulted in the hippies of the late 1960s.  And, I think we are due for another generation of hippies.  But, the next generation of hippies won’t necessarily be dancing around half-baked at a rain swelled muddy concert at Woodstock.

They will be rejecting what their parents embraced.  The next generation of hippies will seek authenticity.  They won’t want to be used as a poster child for their parent’s perfection in the form of a social media post.

The next generation of hippies will reject a life based on the volume of social media views, shares, and likes validated by peer approval.  Maybe our children of today will grow up to be the parents who play board games with their kids during a hiking or canoeing trip, excluding themselves from technology for a greater duration than their parents.  And, they won’t share their experience with anyone else but the people present.  Yes, no photo will appear on the internet!  Odd, isn’t it?  Only those present will ever know that it happened.  But, it will be their moment; their memory to reflect on for a lifetime.  And, they will talk about it.  All of the things that happened that made that moment memorable.  They will laugh about it and talk about it for decades to come.

Our next generation of hippies won’t care to share their experiences with the masses.  They will own their experiences, and they won’t be for sale on social media platforms.

Kids and cellphones

As I mentioned in my previous commentary, children have been given access to technology at too young of an age.

Most of our children are not mature enough to handle what they have been provided with Smartphone technology.

Kids are joining Snapchat, Facebook (not so much), and Instagram — all with innocence.  And, then there is texting.

Little do they know that they are exposing themselves to cyber-bullying, among other things.  We have published stories about how schools and law enforcement are doing their best to address these issues.  But, our school officials can only address that which they are made aware of — essentially doing their best to put out fires.  Ultimately, it all comes back to the parents.  All of us as parents are responsible for what we allow into the lives of our children.

I hear stories from parents of students throughout our region on a regular basis, and the issues we are facing in our schools are disturbing to say the least.  While we are in a better place than bigger cities like Rochester, there is still reason for concern.

In our region, we have a story about a 13-year-old girl who received text messages and Snapchat messages from another student telling her she was “fat, ugly, and had so many zits that nobody would like her.”

Imagine if that was your daughter.

And, then there was another story I was told about a nine-year-old boy showing classmates in his classroom pornography on his phone.  This is happening in our schools, and our kids are being exposed to this!  Even if your child doesn’t have a cellphone, it’s the kid sitting next to him or her on the bus or in the classroom that is showing him or her something you would deem inappropriate.

Oddly enough, most schools have a policy about not allowing kids to wear hats in school, but administrations take no issue with kids bringing cellphones into the classroom.  We have kids playing video games and taking photos for their Snapchat entertainment during classroom education time.  This seems like a system failure to me.  Again, I repeat, most schools have a policy about not allowing kids to wear hats in school, but administrations take no issue with kids bringing cellphones into the classroom?

Parents set a poor example

Parents have used technology like a babysitter.  It’s not a healthy situation.  Parents will hand Smartphones or tablets to their children to make them happy (keep them occupied).  And, really, our children just want our attention.  They want our time more than technology.

And, then there is the issue with parents showing up at youth sporting events and looking at their phones more than they are watching their children participate — the sole purpose they are supposed to be there.  Apparently, whatever is on their phones is more important than their child.  That’s the message they are sending, and their child takes notice.

When you walk into a restaurant and see a table full of people looking at cellphones with no acknowledgement of others at the table, that’s sad.  I love to talk to people when we go out to eat, but maybe I’m just weird or old fashioned.  From my perspective, cellphones should never be at the dinner table, whether at home or in a restaurant.  You’re telling others at the table that there may be something more important on your phone than your time with them.  That’s just plain rude.

I’m praying for a rebellion

I’m praying for our children.  I’m praying that our children will be smarter than their parents.  I’m praying for a rebellion.

Will the parents of today be acknowledged as the generation that neglected their children in favor of technology?

I hope our children figure out how to manage new technology in their lives without compromising the most important reason we exist on this planet — human interaction.