Where Will Clark Kent Change His Clothes?

Where will Clark Kent change clothes?  How will he transform into Superman?  Phone booths have become a bit of a novelty these days.  My son may never get to see one outside of pictures or videos.  He won’t endure the struggle of finding a phone, making sure he has enough spare change, and hoping the person he is trying to reach is home.  I remember using the payphone outside the public pool to see if I could stay longer or in the hallway of my high school to tell my mom that I would be late.  I didn’t have my first cell phone until after I was married, and even then it wasn’t until I was making long distance night drives alone.  I decided I should have one just in case there was an emergency.  If payphones are no longer an option, then I will have to get my son a cellphone.  He will grow up in a world where he is never disconnected.  He will be able to pick up his phone at anytime and make a call and people will almost always be able answer.  It won’t matter if they are home or not.  He won’t even have to call.  He will probably just send a text.  Long gone are the days of passing folded paper notes under desks and behind your back.  I don’t know what age I will get my son his own phone, but he will have one long before I did and long before I am ready for it.

Walking to School

When I was in the first grade, I would walk to school with my sister.  The next year she moved to middle school, and I started walking to school myself.  It was five blocks, and my parents never thought anything about it.  I never considered that it was unsafe or anything to warrant concern.  My son is still a few years from going to school, but when he does he will go to the same grade school I went to.  We live eight blocks away.  One day as we drove by the school, I mentioned to my husband that soon our son would be walking or riding his bike to school.  “No!” he said immediately.  He said it was too far and too dangerous to let him walk to school by himself.   I was surprised by his reaction.  Will my son never know the joy of a leisurely walk back from school, kicking leaves and hopping over cracks in the sidewalk?  Is the world he is growing up in so dangerous that he can’t walk a mere eight blocks alone?  I don’t know that I agree with my husband about this, but I am sad that my son is growing up in a world where we have to have this discussion.  I don’t want him to miss out on the simple pleasures of life because we are too afraid to let him experience it. 

Google It

A few months ago, my son started saying “Google it”.  My husband says it all the time.  Any time anyone asks him a question that is his response.  My son is growing up in a new era.  Some people call it an era of information, but in ways it seems like an era that lacks information.  With information now available to most of us at all times via our smartphones, there is little reason to actually retain information.  There is no reason to memorize formulas, facts, geography, or trivia.  Not only do you not need to retain this information, you no longer need to maintain connections that have this information.  When I was growing up, I remember that my dad had an address book full of friends and acquaintances.  There were certain people he would call when he encountered certain problems.  For instance, if he had a car questions, then he would call Greg.  If he had a gardening question, then he would call Randy.  It was like this for a variety of things.  There were a dozen people that he maintained this type of relationship with, casual connections to whom he could reach out to if he had a question about something specific.  In turn, these people would reach out to him if they had a question about his area of expertise, HVAC.  My son won’t need to have these types of connections.  He won’t need to call someone to ask them directions or for a tip on his lawn.  He will simply pull up his phone and find the answer in a matter of moments.  He will have access to an infinite amount of information, but he will lose the need to remember it.  He will be able to find out almost anything he wants to know without human interaction.  I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  I only know that it is different than how I grew up.       

Talking to Siri

When my son was just over one year old, he discovered Siri.   He fell in love.  He would constantly speak to her.  Pressing the button over and over again, he would ramble his baby talk.  He would laugh with delight when she would answer or cry in frustration when he didn't illicit response.  It was cute and amusing.  As a parent, I found awe in his development.  It was exciting to see him connect his actions with such intent.  However, it struck me on a different level.  It shocked me a bit.  My son is growing up in a world where it is completely normal not only to talk to electronic devices, but to expect a response.  As voice activated devices become more prevalent in our day to day lives, he hears people around him commanding responses from cars, radios, phones, televisions, and watches with just their voice.  It is exciting and terrifying all at once.  I am thrilled that he can grow up in a time of such technological advancements, when it seems technology knows no bounds.  However, I fear that growing up with such advancements will remove him from the simpler things in life.  What is lost in a world where you no longer have to even lift a finger to make a phone call or change a channel?