Could the world be is dire need of a week away for technology? Information overload is a real problem even for the smallest members of society.
How many children have been caught by those horrendous sms competitions that chew up their credit in five minutes flat? How many small children think they are dying of some obnoxious disease because they read about it on facebook,(my daughter is prone to catching everything available).
Spare a thought for those not yet addicted to the daily email, social network or auction online. They still exist in the 'real' as opposed to 'cyber' world.
Perhaps they need time to interact with you on a face to face level rather than a facebook chat to be inspired to make the leap into the 2010's.
On those rare occasions when my computer is down, and I need to fill my day some other way, my house shines! I whip up some yummy treats for the lunchboxes and the dog looks far less depressed!
I know I should be disciplined to set hours on the computer but if the mood is right I am one who goes with the flow whether or not the dog hair is building in the carpet or the windows are so smudged I can't see outside.
It isn't only me. I know many people who in 'the olden days' had lovely tidy homes that smelled nice when you entered. People who baked and ate at the table with the family who now eat at the computer as they talk to someone they have never seen and are never likely to see.
What makes this person more important than the family who is right there in the house in living flesh? Of course they aren't but such is the cyber world.
I have noticed some children are already tiring of computers and the internet - using it as a tool for school and nothing much more. Sure they will watch the occasional movie or send a message but it has lost much of it's appeal. It isn't a new tool for young children - it has been there all their lives, it is part of their normal world.
The most dominant forces on the net are the older generations who can thrive in this world that can be seen without leaving home. But we want the younger generation to achieve a real sense of being before they age.
The constant flow of news about things outside their own town boundaries, news that makes them sad or scared when in fact their own home ground is safe and happy is stealing their true life from them.
Yes, world knowledge is good but an overload of emotive journalism is causing me to predict long term emotional damage to the current generation of children.
News should perhaps be keep purely factual, no manipulative use of emotion to twist the heart strings of the viewers, that belongs in the realm of fantasy. At least there the child understands it is a work of fiction.
People blame violent games and dvd's for the rash of vicious children when in all reality a child is not stupid and generally can determine the difference between real and unreal.
The more likely cause is the lack of attention from consumed parents who no longer like to be interrupted by the requirements of their offspring.
Yes a week off once a year -- annual holiday if you like, turn off the internet and the television stations and the phone towers and just be people again - it could be a life saver in the long term.
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