As I was driving yesterday, I heard a commercial by AT&T that annoyed the hell out of me. I had heard it before, but for some reason, yesterday it struck a nerve and in doing so, got me thinking. The commercial was something about their improved wi-fi capability, the ability to stream live TV or movies to a smart phone or iPad, and as a result of all of this, parents could keep their kids occupied with movies or TV so they didn't have to watch them as closely. First off, I have a problem with this because I abhor the fact that so many parents these days rely on technology to babysit their children. All they have to do is hand their child a iPhone, iPad, or some other "smart" device and boom, they are entertained for hours either with games, shows, or movies. There seem to be fewer and fewer parents who actually let their children explore the world around them, tinker with objects actually develop their brains, and learn how to occupy themselves without an electronic device. So that is my first and foremost problem, but my thinking yesterday veered down a tangential road about how we got to this present predicament as I see it. Was it parents using electronic devices to occupy their children that drove companies such as AT&T to market their products as "babysitters"? Or contrarily, was it companies such as AT&T marketing their products and services as "babysitters" that drove parents to begin using electronic devices as such? I frankly don't remember back to when "smart" phones first came onto the market and what commercials were being run about them. My gut instinct would be to say that it was a parent or two that saw the potential "babysitting" services that could be had by handing their child a smart phone or other device and once that caught on in the parenting world, the marketing followed suit. However, I wouldn't put it past any company to have come up with the idea and begun the marketing campaign to place a smart phone in every child's hand, if only temporarily to save the parents some time.
I've written about technology and children before, but it seems to be reaching a whole new level of absurdness in my mind. At what point do parents teach children to disconnect from technology in order to connect with themselves on a deeper level? I know there are some parents out there who are taking the tough road and keeping electronic devices out of their children's hands, but there are many more who feed into the marketing frenzy and the hype about having time to themselves while their children are occupied with technology. My wife and I are part of the group of parents that keep electronic devices away from their children. Our son has never seen the TV on or held a smart phone or other electronic device. And he probably won't for quite some time yet. When I talk to older parents in their 50's and 60's about our son, one of the questions I always get asked is my feelings on technology, smart phones, and how they come into play with our son. Most are surprised when I say that he has never seen or held one. It is a rarity these days for a child not to have seen an electronic device much less used one. When we are bombarded incessantly by the media and commercials advertising the benefits of occupying our children with electronic devices, I can see how parents give in, go with the flow and mimic all the other parents out there. It goes beyond placing these devices in the hands of our children though. A big part of the problem that we face is that many parents are glued to their smart phones as if they wouldn't know what to do if the phone was actually detached from their hand or head. What kind of example are we setting for our children when they see us perpetually looking at our phones, texting, checking email, not paying attention to them or the rest of the world? I have seen too many parents on my drives in the morning waiting with their children for the bus and not once paying attention to their child. Instead, they are glued to whatever is happening on their phone, oblivious to the world around them. For my part, I try to never use my phone in front of my son, not because he shouldn't see me use it, but because he deserves my attention when he is around. I feel that getting my attention is more important than anything happening on my phone, the Internet, or on some social media site. I know, I am anomaly, but that's the way I am.
Perhaps a more important question than which came first, the parent or the marketer, is how much influence does marketing actually have in selling products and services to parents? I am sure that marketing has a much bigger impact than I would like to believe it does. For one, marketing, regardless of how creative it gets, rarely influences me to buy one product over another or even entertain a product I know I will never use. Yet, companies pour millions of dollars into marketing because on some level, it does work and does influence people to buy products. If there weren't a tangible return on companies investment in marketing, they wouldn't spend so much getting all creative in how they sell their products. I think to a certain extent, marketing plays to American's ideals that we need the newest gadget, the latest clothing line, the best and most improved learning product for our children. They know that we listen to what is coming out, what we "need" to get, and as a result, create commercials that push us just that little bit more so we actually buy their product. Its a big game in my mind. How best can companies spend their marketing money and get the biggest return, i.e. the most people to buy their product. When it comes to children, they are often pawns used in marketing to play on parent's desires for either more time, a better educational experience for their children, or the next latest gadget to entertain. I don't play their game. My son has his pots and pans, his cardboard house to play in, his "real" books, his stackable cups, dump truck, and a few other toys that keep him perfectly entertained without any electronic interference. It just goes to show you that children don't "need" electronic devices to be entertained, they just need attentive parents and simple toys. The rest should come from their imagination. Let children develop a sense of self instead of developing a sense for technology. Technology will be there when they get older and I guarantee they will pick it up quick enough. For me, no technology for our son, at least for a number of years. When he gets older, that's a different story, but he isn't even two yet, so for now, we keep it simple. What are your feelings on parenting, technology, and children?
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