Teens, raise your hand if you have a social media account of any kind. Raise your hand if one or both of your parents has a social media account as well. OK, that's what I thought. Did you know that nearly 75 percent of parents have a Facebook and/or Instagram? And I'm sure just about everyone can think of a few (or a million) embarrassing things that their parent has done or said online that still makes them shudder at the very thought.
This is a recent revolution, though. I remember using Facebook years before my mom even thought about creating an account. I also created an Instagram years before my mom wanted one, too. But in just the past year or so, I have seen a drastic, and I mean DRASTIC, upsurge in the number of parents with social media accounts...even parents with young children. When I was a toddler, the most high-tech item my parents owned was a box TV with around 60 channels. Now parents all over the country have laptops, iPads, iPhones, Apple TVs, tablets, etc. These gadgets are cool, please don't misunderstand that. But this overuse of technology is turning the newest generation into a bunch of glazed-over video addicts with a completely different relationship with their parents than even the people my age have with their own moms and dads.
Don't believe me? I went to Six Flags last weekend and enjoyed a great deal of people-watching. The park was exceptionally crowded, so I had a lot of time to do some observing while I was waiting in line for the rides. While waiting to get on the Mindbender, I was behind a cute, young mom with her 3-year-old son for nearly 45 minutes. As we waited, she sat down on the ground, whipped out her iPhone, and proceeded to catch up on multiple social media forums and shoot some texts to her friends. Meanwhile, her little boy was tapping her, rubbing her arm, whispering in her ear and literally running in circles around her to get her attention, and she never even looked up to see what he needed. This number went on for the duration of the waiting period. At one point, the boy tripped and skinned his knees, and I literally had to pick him up and carry him a few steps to the mother before she noticed what had happened. If she wasn't embarrassed to act this way in public, then God only knows what things are like behind closed doors, or even in the car.
It gets worse. I was eating lunch at Johnny Rockets, and a young mom with two children around 8 or 9 years old was sitting at the adjacent table. Once they received their food, the mom propped her massive iPhone 6 Plus against the salt and pepper shakers and turned on a TV show for them to watch as they ate. She even turned the volume up so loud that the entire restaurant was annoyed. Again, if this mom had no trouble doing this in public, I guarantee their dinner is usually served on TV trays, and talking (if any) is only allowed during commercials. What does this teach your kids with regards to the need for good social skills and a healthy family dynamic? What ever happened to "no phones at the table"?
One more example for you. I was riding the Scream Machine, and a mom was literally scrolling through her news feed as we were going up the first hill. I honestly don't even think I need to comment on this.
Listen, I will be the first to admit that people my age are on our phones a lot. It's true. But I don't even want to think about what the next generation is going to look like when it comes to technology use. Technology is a great tool for connecting with friends, family and people all over the globe. Technology is not the issue here. It's the parents who are incorporating it into everyday tasks and turning it into a crutch. You are teaching your kids that conversation isn't necessary for development and growth, and every time you turn down your child so you can comment "LOL" on a friend's status, you are telling your child that their needs are not as important as whatever it is that you're looking at.
Parents, PLEASE don't let the Internet distract you from your job of raising children during the most important developmental years of their lives. If you think this generation's teens are obsessed with their phones, wait until your 3-year-old is a teenager and doesn't even know how to verbally communicate because all they've watched you do is scroll, share and text throughout their whole life.
