Watching tonight, of all things, "Nanny 911, on Fox. I usually find this show amusing for several reasons: one, I generally find the whole nanny coat/hat, British, high heels bit of schtick a little preposterous, I think most of the parents on the show are completely clueless, and, if I were doing that bad a job of taking care of my kids, I don't think I would ever be able to swallow my pride enough to let all of my shortcomings be shown on television.
That being said, tonight's show struck a chord. The biggest problem with the family tonight was that all of the kids spent the entire day sitting in front of video games. Video games had become such an important part of their life, that the idea of turning them off for any amount of time forced all of the kids to erupt into terrible violence. The images they were seeing on a regular basis were inciting terrible role-playing incidents and the parents had become so blase about the brotherly violence that they ignored the source because it allowed them free-time. Insta-babysitting.
I guess I'm starting to act/feel a bit old, but I think the whole video game phenomenon is heinous. I think that video games are the cause of increased youth violence in our society, a lack of manners among the youth of this country, and are part of the cause of our supposed "obesity epidemic." I see my youngest brother, still only 13, fight tooth and nail with my mother about having one more hour of Gameboy . . . to the point where he's screaming near obscenities and locking himself in his room.
My parents used to be hugely strict about video games with my brothers and I. When we were kids though, we only had basic Nintendo. Mario Brothers and Tetris were the only two games in existence at the time. Previous to that it was Atari, and the graphics on those were such that playing kickball in the cul-de-sac or looking for crawdads in the creek seemed much more entertaining when the sun was shining.
My parents are less strict with my youngest brother. They are older, have more on their plate, and are more willing to let him retire to his Playstation when they need time to themselves. In their defense, they do restrict the time he's allowed to play, but I still see how he's grown up differently with so much technology in his life. I gave him a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for his birthday this year with specific instructions that he was not to buy anything that could be used in a video/computer machine or a book about any such piece of equipment. I wanted him to buy a book because I wanted him to find the joy in reading and imagination the way that his brothers and I did when we were kids.
I know I can't fix the whole world, but I hope I can at least influence him a little, and someday influence my own children by showing them every day that there's more to life than what you can watch on a television screen/video screen/computer screen.
And yes, perhaps I'm a bit hypacritical as I sit here on my Blogger. I realize how addictive all of this new technology is - I must continue to keep it in perspective with real life. Moderation . . .
2 comments:
At least by blogging you're using the technology in an active way, one which compels you to both organize your thoughts and employ rhetorical skills in their expression. In so doing, you're creating something uniquely...well, uniquely Keturah.
I guess you should know that your little brother has to earn points for time on anything electronics including TV. The maximum amount he can play games is 2 hours a day. There are many days when he is without the screens. However, at holiday time he does not have those restrictions and his older siblings rarely see him during a regular school week. In this world there is a greater need for down time than there has ever been. His world and ours is much harder to deal with. He is very creative, come look in the garage and out in the woods. Remember he does not have siblings at home, you older three had each other to be creative with. True your parents are slowing down a bit, but we have a long life ahead of us. I remember being tired of dealing with teenagers back in the 1990s. Keep smiling, you are getting older, we all are. But most of all you are getting wiser.
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