Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Kids Today. . . Rock!

I am a user of social media.  Twitter is my first source for breaking news and weather alerts,  Facebook keeps me connected to family and friends, and Instagram (when I remember) shows me fun and often beautiful moments from my daughter's life.  I am intrigued by the way the world is becoming connected and instantly updated; more than that-- I am amazed.

At first, I resisted.  "Facebook? No thanks."  However, once my children became members of the digital society,  I felt the need to join, connect, and put myself, well, out there.  For a few years, I was an avid user, and I still go through spurts.  But more often than not, I'm now more of a scroller.  

While I still love the technology, I've become a bit disenchanted with the overwhelming number of posts about (and I am most definitely paraphrasing) "We Are Raising Entitled Kids" and "Growing Up In the 80's (50s, 60s, 70s) was So Much Better!"    We brag, we boast, we compare, we criticize.  Kids today!  Stop being bored, kids.  Go drink out of a garden hose and ride your bikes until the street lights turn on. Work.  Get a job.  Make your bed.  Fly a kite.  When I was your age, I carried a four-pound WalkMan and listened to an Air Supply mix tape on gym-shoe roller skates.  (That's true; I did.)  Does it really prove anything at all?  To be clear, I can see my daughter right now, from here, wearing a super cool outfit.  Her tiny earbuds are tossed on the table and she is NOT wearing skates of any kind.  I think she wins this particular battle of "Then vs. Now."

Do my children feel entitled?  I hope not.  Or spoiled, mean, rotten, evil, nasty, cranky, selfish or any number of things that I wouldn't want them to feel.  Sick, angry, hurt, scared, hopeless, hungry, sad, bullied or worried.

Kids today.  Geez. 

It's entirely possible that, at some point, I may have shared a post like the ones I am arguing against.   I can't remember if I have or haven't.  And if I have,  I am hereby disenchanted with myself.  It's not that I necessarily disagree with all of the articles, or with the clever captions on the cute stock photos about parenting--they often make me laugh out loud!  

But I wonder, do the kids laugh when they read the the posts about kids?

These kids are our children.  They grew up in a digital world, one that provides instant updates and one-day shipping,  iPhone notifications and friend requests.  The fact that we, the adults, continue to post about the entitled, spoiled, bored kids of the world feels entirely unjust.

The truth is, they're probably not reading the posts.  They've likely moved on to the next big thing, and we are already one step behind.  But just in case, it would be nice to post with kindness in reference to our own children.

And I know that we ALL do.  I see the birthday messages, the sports photos, the messages of good news and the beautiful vacation pictures.  I've seen magic happen with prayer requests and stories shared.  The possibility for good is seemingly endless!

The digital world is allowing us a connectedness that is both instant and far-reaching.  It makes this big world feel smaller every day, as we branch out and share our stories and our lives.  I'd rather learn from these crazy "kids today" about what this new digital world has to offer, than try to convince them to live in the world where I grew up thirty (ahem) years ago.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a pair of royal blue Adidas skates to find. . .  but at least I have a playlist on my iPhone.