Are They Really That Bad?

It's hard to write about anything other the most unconstitutional president that has sat in the oval office for as long as I can remember.  But I'm not nearly qualified enough nor know enough about what's going on to provide any real facts.  I even wrote unconstitutional because I've seen enough credible people use that word.

So I'll write about Mr. Rogers instead.  Yep.  That's right.  It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood Mr. Rogers.  He was one of the first people to interact with children from a screen.  He'd ask rhetorical questions.  How many people answered him?  Honestly, I can't remember.  But it wouldn't have mattered if you did or didn't.  The show went on without you.

There is number of shows on tv that do this.  My kids watch Team Umizoomi.  I'm pretty sure that's the one where they have the children viewers spin, jump and do other sorts of stuff to fill some sort of power meter.  My daughter plays along...my son learned that it doesn't matter what he does, the power meter still fills up.   I probably taught him that, just like I did my daughter.  I don't want them thinking that they have any pull in the results of what happens on the show.  At least until they are watching election results and are old enough to vote.

It's like watching an exercise show without actually exercising.

But times are changing.  There are programs that you can have your kids watch that have a camera attached to the tv.  It can actually tell if your child is moving.  I don't know if this is better or worse to be honest.  Just thinking about video games.  I grew up with Super Mario World.  I'll never forget the first video game you could actually go backwards.  Ok...I do forget.  Maybe it was Contra?  Anyway, now so many of these games are open world.  You can go anywhere.  Many force you to problem solve.  I love watching my son play the Lego games and Skylanders on Xbox.  They way he figures it out is mind blowing to me.

Screens are changing.  It's no longer just tv.  Kids under ten years old are basically guinea pigs.  They don't know life without screens.  The long term effects of having screens everywhere are unknown.  Not just a tv screen, but interactive screens.  For us adults, screens almost seem like the enemy at times.  Because we remember a day when we didn't have them.  However, many just used a book, magazine or newspaper instead.  How many bathrooms had a magazine rack next to them?  When our life is in a forced pause it's so hard for us to sit still without any attachment to the world.  Like in a line somewhere, you pull your phone out.  Even at stop lights, people pull their phones out.  FYI, you need to pay attention at stop lights too.

I'm not going to vilify screens.  I just hope that people use some sense.  Don't forget about human to human interaction.  When standing in lines, try to make small talk.  Even just smile at someone.  Have you made eye contact with a stranger lately?  Do we even know how to talk to strangers face to face anymore?  Are we comfortable with small talk?