Technology is advancing right now. Even as you are reading this. People seem to think of new ways to use it every day.

But, if I may be blunt, I’m scared of all of these new technological advances. Not in the way that I think Terminators are going to come back from the future to kill people that are trying to kill me. But, I remember as a kid running around with the other kids in the neighborhood playing Cops and Robbers and Hide and Seek. Nowadays, kids are sitting inside on their (or their parents) tablets or cell phones.

I feel as if it’s not fair that kids are not experiencing running outside, scraping their knees and climbing trees. It’s just not. Their minds are now distracted by drowning themselves in games on a brain-draining device.

And the scariest part about it is that some parents even encourage this. Parents are handing kids technology as a distraction (perhaps for a peaceful wine night), or as a way of having fun.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with having fun playing Candy Crush on a tablet. Where I'm skeptical is at family gatherings, when I see all of my little cousins are playing on a tablet or cell phone. It seems like it’s happening everywhere I go. A grocery store, the mall, a soccer game. It’s frightening.

Kids are not experiencing childhood as they should be. And for what? A touch screen device with pretty shapes and colors. I used to beg my mom to turn on the TV during dinner, but now kids are throwing fits if they can’t play on a tablet all day. Is this how we want the next generation to develop?

Toddlers in this ever-advancing era are more concerned about taking mommy and daddy’s tablet rather than wanting to play in the leaves, build snowmen, or simply play real games that require thought or imagination. Whatever happened to board games?

The minds of children are in the process of melting as they spend more hours indoors on a tablet or cell phone. My eight-year-old cousin has a cell phone. Who on Earth does she need to talk to? Who is reading her Tweets?

When it comes to kids, I’m worried technology will be all they worry about in their lives. They will not experience childhood and who knows what they will be like as they grow older.

I highly (desperately) encourage my readers to watch this video this video of three different generations of families explaining what they did for fun as a child. You really need to see what page I am on with this. It’s scary.