Monday, November 24, 2008

Velcro generation

“The kids of the next generation may be net-savvy and may be wizards at their Playstations, but do they know to tie their shoe laces? Can they wear shoes only with Velcro straps?” wonders the author of this article.

“What else have we lost, or failed to pass along, to the generation of kids about to inherit an increasingly compromised planet?

Is this generation heading into a coming dark age with little more than the ability to update their Facebook statuses and watch Youtube, all with laces untied?

While this generation can text-message, download, update and surf online simultaneously, this constant deluge of information is in fact something of a mirage. Information is not knowledge, nor even close to wisdom. And it is actually getting harder to learn and remember things.

If the lights start to go out sometime in the near future, and Walmart closes its doors, who would really be useful? The answer changes, but basically it comes down to people who know how to do things, farmers, carpenters, doctors, people with a body of knowledge that can be applied directly, physically to the real world. It certainly won't be film critics or bond traders.

When it comes to the crunch, and if required to roll up their sleeves and dig ditches, the kids of today simply will not be up to the task.

If our first impulse is always to protect our children, are we actually doing them a disservice? If suffering breeds character, does a complete lack of suffering foster utter helplessness?”

Hmmm, an overly pessimistic view, but she may have a point. I wonder what you kids have to say about this?

4 comments:

A Motley Tunic said...

I am still wondering how to explain film cameras to my child. Instant gratification does spoil the fun in waiting or does it?

Unknown said...

Yeah i wonder about this too ...only reassuring thought is that ... my parentals have been thoughtful enough to breed some character in me .. and one day i hope i can pass that one on to my kid too ....

dipali said...

I wonder. Perhaps. We should dump a bunch of 'em somewhere with minimal resources and see what they come up with.
(But not being a kid, my viewpoint here is unasked for).

Mujtaba Khan said...

I think parents should educate kids more about there culture and traditions instead of showing them how to tie there shoe laces ( Kids can learn tying shoe laces themselves as they grow up) " comment by a student"