Don’t sweat the brave new world

Thousands of school children headed back to their classrooms this week.

They might not have had much of a summer to enjoy, but nonetheless, it’s time to get back to the business of training our youngsters for the challenges life will throw at them.

The days in the old school yard are right up there among the subjects people choose to reminisce about, usually through rose tinted spectacles.

Many parents, and probably more so grandparents, will shake

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their heads as the younger generation head off to school with iPads having replaced the humble 1B5 and pencil case.

Ok, maybe not replaced, yet, but it’d be a good bet that it won’t be long until paper and pencil is a sideshow at best, given the current rate of technological advance.

There’s barely even time for nostalgia these days, as things that have been part of our lives slowly give way to the seemingly unstoppable technological tide.

Video stores are on the way out, so is cash becoming antiquated, and remember 20 years ago when the internet was barely a dot on the average person’s horizon. By the time a 5-year-old starting school tomorrow is 25, who knows what world they’ll live in.

There’s no use pining for the simple way school was.

Our children will need a different technical skillset to make their way in the world, especially as automation carves away traditional jobs.

If you’re not thrilled about the way the future looks your options to try and alter it are few.

The first thing you should do is get rid of your smart phone - no more mobile banking or work emails on the fly.

You’ll want to give up your Netflix account, buy an Encyclopaedia Britannica set and get rid of that collaborative imposter Wikipedia. Forget about Facebook and dust off your letter writing set - and that’s just the start of the list.

The biggest problem will be getting the masses alongside you. Most of these changes are, for many, too convenient to lose.

Many will welcome the new world in any case - especially the children about to head off to school. The excitement they’ll feel at the onset of realistic virtual reality will probably mirror the excitement many of us felt at buying a Nokia phone with Snake on it.

If you worry too much about the future, you won’t enjoy the wonders of the present. Your kids will help shape a different world, so let them go for it.