By Annalissa Domes
In today’s fast-paced, modern society, many people rely heavily on technology for their standard tasks. But just last month, a Microsoft outage affected 8.5 million computers globally, causing widespread disruption and chaos. The incident led to the cancellation of numerous flights, leaving people strewn throughout airports without the technology they rely on. BBC News called it “the worst cyber event in history.”
Technological innovations such as artificial intelligence have developed at such a rapid rate over the past decade that it is no surprise how technology has become as crucial to our day-to-day lives as eating or sleeping. However, what does this mean for future generations brought up in this new norm? What crucial social skills will they potentially lack as more and more tasks can be completed hiding behind a screen? Many have already started to observe changes and vast differences in mannerisms among the newer generations.
Members of Generation X seem to share similar ideas — younger generations tend to be more impatient and the constant presence of technology has devastating effects on both their mental health and self-confidence. David Domes, a European father who grew up in the Czech Republic, reflects on his childhood, noting his disinterest in the limited television programs available at the time. He believes that “children nowadays have become too reliant on technology, which will only be to their detriment later on as they may lack critical thinking skills.”
Other parents are apprehensive that their children are growing up too fast and missing out on landmark events. “I wonder if children growing up in this generation are going to look back on their childhood quite as fondly as those from my generation are able to,” Cristin Tighe, mother of three Generation Z children, said. Tighe warmly recalls her childhood, in which she went door to door with other kids in her neighborhood, always playing sports and board games, going on adventures, or doing some type of arts and crafts project.
Shortened attention spans, social anxiety, and a decrease in cognitive ability are all points of concern for Generation X when they regard the younger generations.. Children seem to be showing signs that maybe their concerns are appropriate.
When asked about his favorite activities, twelve-year-old Nikolas Domes replied with “soccer [and] video games,” and he loves to play Oculus, or virtual reality games. When made aware of his parents’ perspectives, he countered, “Boomers don’t understand it.”
It is important that people should proceed with caution as we navigate this rapidly evolving technological setting and remain mindful of the catastrophic impact screens can have on our youngest societal members. In the future, let us all think twice before carelessly placing devices into the waiting hands of our precious youths.