Todays Technology

That's been a theme since Roll Dahl. Remember Mike Tevee?

Roll Dahl wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.. you probably at least saw Willy Wonka with Gene Wilder or the Tim Burton version with Johnny Depp *yummy* (which was actually way closer to the book)? Mike Tevee was the kid that watched television ALL the time.. went through the Wonka-Vision... ringing a bell?

Roald Dahl. Yes. And a lot of others I'm sure. He wrote that in the early 70's. so it isn't just "children these days", btw.
It's a complaint of all time from one generation to the next, I'm sure.
It really depends on how you treat it and what you do with it to make it original that matters.

It's bull pooty, if you ask me. My kids are technological wizards who spend a lot of time not being technical. They read Roald Dahl, of course...since he is mandatory reading material in our house. They play outside, participate in sports and read avidly. I don't believe in the tech kids are missing out on life story. I suppose, though, it all depends on how you choose to raise the little dears.

I should add...they have crazy wild imaginations. And, no...no forcing to go outside.

Kevin is right. It is a sweeping generalization to say "kids these days" and then peg it on technology.

Not the case. If you remember, Roald Dahl spent a good deal of time blaming the parents!

There is more than one story to life. One person could tell stories about the time they ran into a tree while skiing as a kid, another could talk about band camp, surfing, fiddling with the guts of a computer, reading reading reading all day long, running in circles for no reason, and various other kinds of ways of living.

Just because something is different doesn't make it bad.

My views on the two "Chocolate Factory" films goes like this:

Tim Burton got everything right EXCEPT for Willy Wonka. I just don't like Johnny Depps choice to play Wonka as child like savant, as compared to Gene Wilder's choice to go as a eccentric genius. So I'd have Tim Burton's film...with Gene Wilder in it.

That'd be awesome!

And yes, the important thing wasn't that Mike Teavee watched TV...it was that his parents LET him do nothing but watch TV all day. Same with all the other horrible children.

Have to agree with KTC on this one. My eldest (12) has been a techno-whizz since age 3 and spends a lot of time playing computer games, etc. He's not terribly coordinated and has had a tough time at school in the sports sections (last-picked, etc. - you know the score) BUT he has the most enviably fantastic imagination, has been published twice (WARNING: Jealous Mother Alert) and has written the first 12,000 words of his novel.

It's the parents' job to ensure they're given every chance to be creative. The 'technology' excuse is cheap. They spend too much time on the computer? Pull the plug. It's that simple.

Symphony

Well, some people are just born with different imagination levels. I think you can fix that with lots of reading...or electroshock therapy.

Technology can ENCOURAGE imagination. My kids are hooked on vid games with a plot, like Final Fantasy, and my twelve-year-old IMs his friends on MySpace to roleplay scenes from their favorite anime shows (Naruto being the current fave). When I was a kid, the imaginative kids were isolated, surrounded by jocks. Now, they can go online and find each other. Frankly, I like their world better and keep trying to sneak in....

(Clapping my hands!) Yea!

My toddler knows her letters backwards and forwards because she loved to watch the Alphabet Train episode of Blues Clues!
(She also has fun imagining she is a mermaid running through the sprinklers in our backyard, AND she is obsessed with books.)

I have friends who frown on any TV watching, but it is a part of our society, and when used wisely, today's forms of media can make major contributions to our lives and student's lives as well.

Maybe for a story idea, you should do a twist. (The student who had problems keeping up in class because their parent's wouldn't let him/her use the computer.)

Well, Gene Wilder's version had more heart. Depp's was somehow too... slick.

And, ah... just remember, if you want to teach a lesson or moral in your fiction, don't let it actually look like you're trying to teach the kids a lesson or moral.

beezle said:

Well, Gene Wilder's version had more heart. Depp's was somehow too... slick.

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It was the only Depp role I was ever disappointed in...maybe because Wilder perfected it. He was a beautiful Wonka...perfect.

The idea that technology is destroying children really bugs me. I know someone who's been using computers since he was two years old; it hasn't harmed his imagination any. And a kid I know who watches a lot of TV is probably the smartest kid I've ever met. I don't understand why watching TV is worse than reading a book - aren't they just different forms of storytelling? I prefer books myself, but I don't think they're better from an objective point of view. (I don't agree with the idea that reading is active while TV spoon-feeds you; each one has different strengths. TV gives you the visual images that you have to infer when you're reading; reading can give you the characters' inner thoughts, which you have to infer when you're watching TV.)

And I was one of those kids who had to be forced outside to play. I wasn't watching TV (I didn't like it very much when I was a kid), but I still didn't want to go do outside stuff. (I still have less than no desire to go play sports; I still don't play well with others; and my imagination is thriving. ) I don't see why this makes me less imaginative. Why is outside play automatically more imaginative than inside play? (Exercise is important, yes, but that's a whole different subject.) I think it's a bad idea to say that one type of activities is good and all the others are bad. There are lots of different types of children, who grow into lots of different types of adults. That's necessary for society - and it's better for society if we don't have kids growing up with a sense of guilt because what they enjoy isn't on the approved list.

I apologize for the rant; this is just an issue that always gets under my skin.

writerdog said:

Please don't hate me everyone.

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Oh, I don't hate you. I hope I didn't come across as too harsh

Symphony said:

p.s. my little 'un loves Blues Clues, too. Little Einsteins is fun, too.

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So, who do you think is the better host? Steve or Joe?


No one hates you writerdog, we are just putting in our $.02 about those "stuck in the muds" who tell us about how kids today are rotting their brains on technology. Obviously it is a hot topic, so writing about it is a good idea, however, be careful with being preachy, and maybe emphasize that a balanced diet of video games, tv, and imagination is a good thing.

My son LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins... but he also loves to turn off the television and run around outside playing ball and stuff at the park. I think it's just balance. Someone earlier said it's a personality thing.. I agree. My sister and I were raised on television (latch key kids and the tv was the babysitter) I did sports, played instruments, drew, and read like crazy. My sister veges out on tv (anime mostly), video games, and writes a lot of fan fics..

Turkey Lurkey said:

So, who do you think is the better host? Steve or Joe?

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My childhood was over when Steve left.

My childhood ended when they canceled the Starship Troopers TV show and my mom wouldn't let me watch the movie or read the book until I was sixteen.

My nickname at home when I was a kid was "square eyes" because of the amount of TV I watched! This was in the 1960s, with 2 channels in black and white! But, we also went on holiday for every school holiday to a caravan site with no electricity - so I had the best of both worlds.

The last time I was worried about someone's lack of imagination was a lady who wanted to knit a jumper, but wouldn't buy the pattern she wanted because the picture was a different colour to the wool she wanted to use, and she couldn't imagine the jumper in her colour!