HOW many times have we had to ask our children to take us through the intricate steps of smartphones? The answer is, countless.
Children today seem to have an inbuilt command of social media technology and its devices,
leaving parents speechless.
Instead of parents teaching their children, the reverse is happening. With their smartphones, tablets and other social media devices, children are fast taking over the teaching role from their parents. This is true nowadays with the world of technology and data content management. This role-reversal is expected to transform family life and eventually restructure the social fabric of society.
I was struck by what a colleague told me about the social media habits of his two children, a 4-year-old boy in pre-school and an 18-month-old girl still at home. Since both have access to video games and other game applications, they will be preoccupied with these for hours at a stretch.
Parents are very much aware of the need for parental control and supervision of content accessibility.
But, we are also in the habit of giving our kids the latest gadgets in the market. We are influenced into providing them with the latest games, movies and applications.
At school they will trade the games with friends. This will become the subject of their daily chats at home, “conversations” with their buddies and non-stop messaging.
Recently, a colleague discovered that his son, who had access to his smartphone, had been using the device without let-up for months, and this was reflected in the high telephone bills. To his horror, his son had been purchasing the latest games and applications from the App Store without his permission.
As for his daughter, she had been using the father’s smartphone when the parents were asleep. He became aware of this only when he woke up in the middle of the night and saw his daughter’s room lit. Upon opening the door, he found that she had been busy on the phone almost half the night. He now keeps the phone locked up at night.
Such scenarios are becoming very common today. Many parents are concerned that they are losing out in the social media world. They feel out of place with all the changes taking place. Many are considering attending special classes on computer basics. Even worse, they fear they will lose control over their children.
Family socialisation, which is important in the process of growing up, is now being sacrificed for technology socialisation, which means children are only active in the company of technology and are spending less time communicating with each other and even with their families.
The time has come for humans to learn how to be human again. Technology and social media should not be game-changers in these changing times.
DR AZHARI-KARIM, Petaling Jaya, Selangor