Yesterday in my Wednesday morning Eagles Group we were discussing the rapid changes in technology. Some of the guys in this reading/brainstorming group now come in with their electronic readers rather than carrying the physical book. And they may have their entire library in this one device. Personally I still like the look and feel of a “real” book but others are telling me I’m nothing but a dinosaur.
Here is a picture of my youngest granddaughter (Clara Isabel) – who turned ONE last Monday. See what she has in her hand? It’s the Sansa Shaker MP3 player Joanne and I got her. Her parents can load her favorite 125 songs in her own digital player – at one year old! When she shakes it, the next song begins to play. After just a couple of days she knows how to stop, play and advance at will.
When I was one year old we didn’t have a radio or a TV in the house. By the time I was about five I could make music by blowing on a piece of grass held between my hands. I guess things have changed. Of course I know my granddaughter is brilliant beyond description — yet this gives me pause. Are these digital “advances” taking us forward or causing us to perhaps miss our own creativity? Do we risk numbing Clara’s imagination as we spoil her rotten?
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