The good, the iPad & the techno-ugly
NEWS that experts have deemed one of my favourite pieces of equipment, the iPad, a bit of a health hazard left me thinking “Here we go again!”
Let’s be honest. I’d love a dollar for every single time some health expert or other has issued a warning about something over the years.
In fact, if you took notice of everything they warned against, you might as well book yourself into the nearest undertaker, stretch out the tape and pick yourself a pine box.
Interestingly, the iPad warnings had nothing to do with claims of emitted radiation. Rather it was because it appears we are becoming addicted to this technology and — surprise, surprise — that is stifling our ability to communicate with those around us.
For those old enough to remember, in the years following the introduction of television in Australia, health experts were also warning of the dire consequences associated with that piece of technology.
Children would become addicted to television, sitting in front of the box all day, every day. It would stifle their learning ability. They’d develop “square eyes”. Not to mention that movie theatres would become a thing of the past.
Sure, for a time children were more interested in watching television than healthy outdoor activity and movie theatres did indeed feel the pinch.
But it didn’t take long before parents began putting limitations on hours spent in front of the telly and movie theatres bounced back.
As a kid, our Saturday afternoons were often spent playing in our grandmother’s backyard. We climbed trees, picked green plums and ate them, got bellyaches and learned from the experience. And, above all, we had fun. But that all came to a screaming halt the day our grandparents bought their first television set.
From that moment on, backyard play became boring and we sat instead on crowded couches (it was a big family and a small lounge room) with our eyes glued to the “idiot box” watching endless American westerns.
This did, however, enable the adults to sit and chat in peace in the kitchen over cups of tea and cake without constant interruptions from squawking kids with grazed knees or some other grievance — much the same way as the iPad also comes in handy for today’s parents to placate weary children when they’re out of sorts or where a distraction is needed.
Of course the beauty — or curse — of today’s technology is its portability. Our iPads and, in particular, our mobile phones accompany us everywhere we go.
I do get a bit concerned when I see young mums automatically handing over their iPads or mobile phones to toddlers for no reason other than it’s easier than having to cart around toys and colouring books.
Or, worse still, an entire family sitting down for dinner at a res- taurant where both parents and children are absorbed in some electronic device or other.
To be honest, I’d rather see a good old-fashioned family “blue” in a restaurant, or a prize tantrum by some kid unhappy they couldn’t get their own way, than see all members of one family completely ignoring each other with their heads buried deep in technology.
So are iPads and mobile phones addictive?
Sure, but only so long as we allow them to dominate our lives.
And today’s parents are not dissimilar to those of the past, well-tuned to the addictiveness of electronic devices and the possible effects of too much screen time on their children.
Most parents I know supervise and limit the amount of time their kids spend on iPads and also in front of the television.
At the same time, more children than ever before now take part in organised sporting activities, which helps balance things out.
While our parents only had television to deal with, today’s young families have the iPad as well as the internet and social media; I don’t envy the challenges they face on a daily basis.
And while the iPad and mobile phone are indispensable in today’s society, you just need to get a grip and, as Kenny Rogers once sang, “Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em’’.
In other words, turn them off and make time to enjoy some solid one-on-one discussion with those you love.
Now if you’ll pardon me, I’m off to clean the sticky little fingerprints from my iPad screen.