Blackberry Test... A miss....

Last night, I sat at the kitchen table with Barry's blackberry. And I thought, How does this thing work?

So I just started pressing buttons [Mason told me once, just keep pressing buttons until it works Mummy] and voila, got into my blog! Mind you, he was talking about a remote control for the TV/receiver/stereo/dvd/vcr player... That's right, with one MASTER remote control that controls multiple devices. Which I can't for the life of me, figure out... And yes, I curse every time I need to help them with it... Because it seems more confusing, than just using what we had previously... Any way, that's another topic all together. Back to my discovery last night.

Once into my blog, all I was able to do was post a title. I couldn't get into the body [which is a good thing, or my thumbs may have cramped up from thumb typing on something 2x3 inches] But I had a realization last night... I realized, that if I had technology at my finger tips, like a bazillion people seem to... Would I be just the same as them? Would I go to swim lessons and surf the net. Would I go on field trips and surf the net. Would I wait at gymnastics and do a blog entry...

Well, would I?

Initially I think yes. Because even last night, sitting at the kitchen table, there was a thrill that I was able to access something that I normally need a computer to do... And then I started to think about it... [Because I'm in negotiations right now, with my boss, to upgrade to an iphone]

Last week, at the pool, watching the kids in their swim lessons, there were 9 adults sitting there, and out of those 9, there were 3 of us who actually watched the kids. The rest were plugged into their little technology devices... One even appeared to be watching a tv show/movie with head phones on... Like, seriously? How can we teach our kids, that part of life is being a bit bored, when the truth is, part of life is about being a bit bored?

Are the kids of this generation, just going to be plugged in all the time? The last time I was at the mall, I saw Mum's pushing kids in strollers with portable dvd movies on... If you go for groceries, there are kids in the carts watching tv shows playing on iphones/itouches...

Am I the only one who thinks this is bad? A recipe for disaster? Is it not important to teach kids that there is a lot of idle times during life, and how to get through those times?

So I think I can honestly answer with a no. No. I don't want to get caught up in the technology of being available for texts/emails/web surfing where ever I go. I want to be plugged in to my kids. Is it boring, yes, sometimes it is. At my last field trip, I watched one child continually look over to see if her Mum was watching her... She wasn't. She was watching the screen on her iphone. I think it's important for my kids to know I'm watching them... They are what matters. What they're doing counts. I love the smile I get, when I give them the thumbs up sign after they've tried something. Because of COURSE they look over to see if I've watched them do it.

After spending time thinking about this... Maybe I'll shut down the negotiations for the iphone. I do have a cell phone. Seriously, what more do I need?