My parents explained to me that when they set these limits on me it was to ensure that I would obtain skills through "real life" interaction rather than learning from a computer and or video game. Rather than being able to look up the United States presidents on a website I was told to go to the library and find a book on the presidents, rather than playing a game about shooting guns, I was taught how to properly handle and shoot a wide variety of fire-arms, which led to my interest in hunting and the outdoors. I was also told "if you like football video games so much, why don't you play on the football team?" which led me to play and have a greater appreciation for the sport. Along with all of these activities I participated in, I developed many social skills that children of this era were unable to experience, such as "team bonding", "how to communicate with others", and many other skills you can't pick up by just looking it up on Google.
As time went on I was able to use the internet and other technologies to my advantages simply because they are easier to access than some books, I believe that it was good for me to learn things the hard way because it gives me a better appreciation of the simplicity that technology delivers.
Needless to say, if you do not instill the idea of hard work and determination will pay off, nobody will work for anything because they can simply look up the answer on Google. This is why I believe that technology today is making people "stupid" because the access to it is so much easier than it was for other generations.
I was the same way with you. I liked how I was brought up/raised by my parents. They monitored the sites I could go on. It sucked at the time because I wanted to go on certain sites. But looking back I am glad they did it. Because they instilled several values in me that I appreciate. I don't have all the video game systems and everything is not just handed too me.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience with my parents as a child. I was only allowed on the computer for homework that required it and for a certain period of the day. However, they had me read the newspaper to find out things about the current events in the US. I was always outside with my friends and was barely ever on the computer. I know that now, its harder for me to focus on homework and readings because in my life I have to use the computer for all sorts of things. I look at myself now thinking that I would sooner prefer to have paper work than computer work.
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