As adults born prior to the I-Generation, it is often a daunting experience to witness our young people so amazingly adept at all forms of technology. The dexterity, ease and overall ability with which even the youngest of this generation navigate technical gadgets are nothing short of astounding. From iPhones to iPads to computers and the like, youth today is truly the envy of those of us born at a time before technology became de rigeur. Telecommunication seems almost like an extension of the people who use it, and their efforts –fingers of all sizes on keypads– appears seamless. For those of us who are getting “up to speed,” mastering technology is a real learning experience, with a curve that often defies our best efforts. There really seems to be something said for learning new tasks during one’s youth!
But try we do, and given all that technology has to offer, it behooves us to avail ourselves of the impressive resources and research on any topic that is literally at our fingertips. Knowledge is but a click away at any time of the day or night. Connection to relatives and friends who live on the other side of the globe, complete with live interaction, makes the world an immeasurably smaller place. We have apps that facilitate nearly every conceivable transaction and are either free or extremely affordable. While life has become even fuller and more demanding given the ability to do so much more, it is at the same time, incredibly more streamlined. Even getting stuck in traffic for dinner no longer means leaving a crowded highway to hunt for the now nearly non-existent pay-phone to update waiting friends or family about one’s whereabouts; a quick cell phone call or text is sufficient to update the waiting people and mealtime is no longer an occasion for disappointment and worry!
Perhaps our children and adolescents miss elements intrinsically bound to the days of the past…the sound and smell of a crisp leather binding on tomes that we used to eagerly open and peruse, now replaced by online information…hours spent poring over research documents, turning pages in books, chapter after chapter, in a cavernous library during a university research paper or thesis, is a memory from the past, as a click or two on the correct data website brings a plethora of information in a matter of seconds… all achievable in the comfort of one’s home –bedside if so desired! The familiar motion of dialing a rotary telephone or placing a black disc spinning on a phonograph that used a now obsolete diamond needle to produce music…these are essentially vintage items for the I-generation. The pleasure of taking a real pen to fine linen stationery and writing an old-fashioned letter to a pen-pal overseas, correspondence possibly even closed with a colorful, wax personal seal… substituted by a quick email or text shot at lightning speed to the same person, but with none of the charm or elegance…these are all the realities of bidding farewell to an essentially outlived era.
In addition, in a very common scenario, for those of us born prior to the I-Generation, it is often dismaying to observe even the youngest children engaged in electronic interaction in settings that would beg for human interaction. The scene that is called to mind most readily is the restaurant, where parents anxious for a peaceful, semi-adult dining experience resort to electronic devices to keep the little ones quiet; the vignette of a family dining with each child engaged –eyeballs to screen– each virtually in “zone of his own,” and physically and mentally cut off from the people around the table with whom he is sharing a meal, has a decidedly disturbing element to it –and surely we have all been witness to settings like this. But it is reality today. Children in the past may have been left at home, true, and they are now included. However, there is something unnerving about this common mealtime scene and the void in human interaction during what is traditionally valued as family time.
We would be hard-pressed to deny the awesome capacity that is delivered to us every day by the technology of the I-Generation. We can all network and connect socially and professionally like never before, increasing exponentially our capacity as individuals. Multi-tasking has become second nature. As we continue to move forward through the I-generation , and on to yet newer and more advanced ones, we should remember that it is through remarkable human ability and research that we have reached a time where almost anything seems possible. Given that balance, technology can and should be an integral part of our lives and those of our children. As we continue to exercise a keen awareness of the importance of personal interaction and the positive value of elements of the past, such as real books and human connection over electronic, we are, indeed, a fortunate generation, blessed with unique and marvelous technological horizons.
The Rabbi Arthur Schneier Park East Day School is a prestigious NYC Jewish Day School in the heart of New York City. Located in the Upper East Side, this Jewish Day School promotes academic growth through community and collaboration.