The post-digital natives neither want a complete abstinence from technology for their children nor want them to be addicted to gadgets
The children of tomorrow are likely to see the online world as a way of life – a ritual passed on by their parents who are increasingly shunning the notion of ‘evil eye’ and instead take less than a minute to share the arrival of their ‘#bundleofjoy’ along with multitudes of other hashtags across a plethora of social media sites.
Spending a third of their day consuming some form of digital media, the millennial generation does everything — from socialising to learning and researching. Their incessant engagement with gadgets is even more pronounced thanks to wearable technology, giving them a chance to bring technology as close to their skin as they can. The babies of millennials already recognise phone/laptop/tablet/wearables as the source of the above activities and rely even more on a digital solution for any and everything.
Aping this behaviour, their children too are keeping themselves busy through gadgets, getting the parents worried who debate on the impact of technology on their childrens’ physical, emotional, social, cognitive and behavioural state.
In a survey conducted by our organisation, to understand the parenting needs of millennial parents, we found that of the 1,018 respondents 61 per cent approved use of technology at pre-school level itself, citing reasons such as quick and fun learning, improves learning, while the others turned it down for taking away kids from books, limiting their imagination and for increasing demands of gadgets at home.
Unsure of leaving behind traditional and cultural values while racing to adopt modern ways of living, millennials, who are also referred to as ‘You Live Only Once’ or YOLO generation want the best of both worlds for themselves, and for the kids as well.
The millennial parents’ challenge is choosing between the characteristics that human beings imbibe from both worlds - while digital makes you independent, quick, instant, faster, smarter, more connected and accessible and yet on your own, real world engagement brings with itself emotions, collaboration, real relationships, feelings, fitness, natural experiences, etiquettes, social behaviour among others.
As parents, they themselves must practice to balance between online and offline world to ensure that their kids emulate the right attitude towards using technology.
(The writer is co-founder and CEO, EuroKids International.)
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