In my Generation Wireless columns I generally share the viewpoint of the post-Internet generation, colloquially called “millennials,” on the emerging trends and the ebbs and flows of wireless technology. Sometimes I find myself drawn from the purely business or technological implications of the rapidly evolving wireless world into the more mundane social implications that technology is inflicting on our society.
In particular I want to discuss two issues that have been bothering me for a long time. Both relate to the convergence of family and technology, more specifically the timeless challenge of child rearing. On the one hand I want to address some of the issues I see that crop up with older parents who are either too cautious or too enthusiastic about allowing their children access to technology. On the other hand, I want to examine the issues newly minted parents of my age bracket are facing or will face. Finally, since most of our readers are in the wireless industry, I think it may be appropriate to touch on some of the ethics of wireless applications and technologies that are marketed to children, parents, or families as a whole.
Older parents, people with college- or high school-aged children, are trying to find a happy medium with their kids and technology. Though I lack hard data on this, my own observations from my somewhat recent time as a high school and college student show that most parents have allowed their children to embrace technology without really understanding it. The cellphone is a great example. This is a seemingly miraculous device that allows you to keep tabs on your children at all times day or night, but also allows them to get into all sorts of trouble. What is an appropriate age to be given a cellphone? Personally, I started with a flip phone in eighth grade and upgraded to an iPhone by the end of high school. That didn’t have so much to do with a conscious choice by my parents, but rather as the evolution of the technology. However, we’ve now reached a point where technological advancement has reached critical mass. The image of a 10-year-old texting his friends from a iPhone 6 was in part what inspired this week’s column. Many more paranoid parents can upload tracking software or even remote shutdown applications into their kid’s phones. Personally, I feel that a 10-year-old with an iPhone and remote shutdown apps are two extremes that should be avoided. Rather, I feel we should treat cellphones as a new benchmark in a child’s life similar to riding a bike or getting a driver’s license. This is something that is given at an age where they are able to comprehend things such as trust, and understand that by giving them a cellphone you are trusting them to make wise decisions with it.
On the other end of the spectrum we have the younger parents with pre-middle school-age children who, out of some misguided parental pride, have decided to build their children a digital identity, documenting their child’s development on social media such as Facebook. I am doing my best to not pass judgment knowing the hell their children will raise when they get to middle school and high school and their friends are able to see all their sailor-suited, baby pictures online. Much like older parents need to explain to their children how dangerous the online world can be and impart upon them how much they trust them when giving them access to it, younger parents should avoid building digital identities for their children until the child is old enough to consent to it. Facebook has been around for half of my life, and every day I hear about a friend of a friend, or in one case a friend, who was denied a promotion or even let go because of something posted on social media. These children will have spent their entire lives with a photographic record and timeline of their lives. Imagine the challenges they’ll face.
Finally, we come to the role of the wireless company in all this. Marketing packages like the family share plan that let all your loved ones keep in touch are a good business decision, and a good way for families to keep in touch. Also available is the tracking software, shutdown apps and a plethora of other child-monitoring devices such as webcams and text interceptors that are marketed to the over-anxious parents. Although such products exist, on principle I think a warning label should be included that says if you can monitor your kids, a half decent hacker can find a way to track them as well.
The universal constant of all recorded history is that the world will always have a new generation to raise. A generation with its own challenges and perspectives understanding that it is the responsibility of the older generation to help in any way it can while accepting its own limitations and mitigating its fears. We should not trivialize or minimize this struggle as generations young and old try to find a place in the world. It is just part of being human and, for our generation, part of living in a wireless world.
Jeff Hawn was born in 1991 and represents the “millennial generation,” the people who have spent their entire lives wired and wireless. His adult life has revolved around cellphones, the Internet, video chat and Google. Hawn has a degree in international relations from American University, and has lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe and Russia. He represents the most valuable, but most discerning, market for wireless companies: The people who have never lived without their products, but are fickle and flighty in their loyalty to one company or product. He’ll be sharing his views – and to a certain extent the views of his generation – with RCR Wireless News readers, hoping to bridge the generational divide and let the decision makers know what’s on the mind of this demographic.
