You’ve heard it from almost everyone over the age of 50: "Kids nowadays just have their faces stuck on their phones all the time." Granted, they aren't entirely wrong. Seven year-olds have nicer phones than I do. Heck, they might even have iPads too, but it's not something to complain about. No, these kids aren't going to have similar childhoods to you. No one is. With each coming generation, the technological advances that occur change so many things for people. For instance, I, unlike my father, never had or used a black-and-white television, and I'm sure his grandfather did not even have television during his time. My little brother, who is only six years younger, has never even heard of the Game Boy Color. Because of technological advances such as these, childhoods will drastically differ from generation to generation.

You can continue to say that children nowadays are growing up too fast, but I believe that’s because they have access to the answers for the questions they have on their minds. When I was younger, if I had a question about what a word meant, a dictionary was thrown at my face, so I could look it up and find my own answers. Now, with two taps on a screen, people have their answers. I know I'm speaking as if I didn't grow up with technology, but the amount of access and exposure was different. My siblings and I all had computers at home that we were able to use, but there were still those times when I was away from home, and I had a question on my mind. By the time I returned home, I wasn’t thinking about booting up my computer, logging into it, double-clicking for a web browser, typing in www.google.com, and then trying to figure out how to word my question in order to get the answers that I wanted because Google wasn’t as smart before as it is now. You couldn’t just type in a question and have it answered instantly. The process of gaining access to my answers was limited. Therefore, I hardly even used my computer until about I was in high school. Maybe if I had used it more in my younger years, I wouldn’t have been able to experience this moment of innocence:

It was eighth grade, and I was sitting in my math class, waiting for it to start. I look over to a friend’s backpack, and she seemed to have sharpied scissors onto it: two round circles and long rod-type thing connected. I commented on it, saying, “Hey, I like the scissors on your backpack.” She gives me an odd look then starts busting out laughing. In my confusion, I ask her what was so funny. She tells me the drawing is actually of a penis. I was completely horrified and mortified. It’s not like I had a way of knowing that.

This may seem like an irrelevant anecdote, but my point is that kids are now very much exposed to such content. For example, Lenny Kravitz’s pierced penis can be seen with a simple Google search. It’s even all over social media, so unless you were entirely disconnected from the Internet, it is very likely you could come across it, even by accident. Exposure is a huge part of what the Internet brings, but is it wrong? Maybe to some, but to me the amount of awareness and exposure the Internet can provide can also help shine light on some bigger issues (no offense, Lenny).

When I take a look at people my own age and people from older generations, it is clear to see that the younger generations are the ones who are becoming more open-minded about modern controversial topics. Through the technology we now have, we are able to connect with people from all around the globe. Children are able to catch more than a glimpse of the travesties that befall those inside and outside of our country. The common quotation that says, “Racism is taught,” shows us that we are not born with our prejudices; rather, through the subtle teachings of our parents and/or other adult figures, accompanied by individual life experiences, we create a standard of morals and values. However, even through these teachings and experiences, through the Internet, we learn that abandoning our prejudices is possible and liberating; through exposure of other lives than the ones immediately around us, we see that people are just people, and that’s okay.

So what I’m trying to say through all of this is let’s give the new generation a break. Let’s accept that kids are never going to have similar childhoods to yours, but they are still kids. They’re kids with bad temper tantrums and refusals to take baths. They’re kids who are learning and adapting to the world around them, and instead of condemning them for it, encourage it. Help them learn more about their world and about the people who make it up. Every generation is different and will always be for years to come. We can learn a little something from the new generation: we must learn to accept and adapt. Technology is evolving, and we must be brave enough to adapt with it, and maybe the kids are onto something; maybe having our faces stuck in our phones is not what is hindering us, rather through technology breeds new generations of innovators and thinkers who move with societal currents to further advance and better our reality outside of our gadgets. But as a message to both adults and children: let’s not forget to look up, stretch our necks, and capture the world in our own eyes beyond the limitations of our screens.