Tech-Savvy Generation

Sorry that this is posted is so late in the day. My husband left earlier this week for a job interview, took our laptop with him, and I didn’t even realize until late last night that my post was on the computer he had, and because he had the computer I also didn’t have internet access….so I had to wait until I got to the office (I had meetings in Eastern PA this morning). End result: Sorry for the late blog.

So, today is my brother Beau’s 13th birthday. And, as I was trying to figure out what a 13-year old boy might be interested in it got me to thinking how things have changed since I was thirteen. The reality is that things aren’t all that different and is hasn’t been all that long since I was a tall, skinny, awkward junior-highschooler. Primarily there is one area where things are different: technology.

Let me take a step back and explain my family situation. I am the oldest of 10 children. Yes, t-e-n. Ages and names are as follows: Rich-22, Megan-19, Erica-16, Derek-14, Beau-13, Luke-9, Jake-5, Emma & Anya (twins)-2. It was crazy growing up (it is all different now, but when I was in high school there were 10 people in the same house and we only had one bathroom!). So, having a huge family basically means that we have a birthday almost every single month. I usually don’t have a hard time finding what to get for my siblings…but 13 is a tough age, especially for a boy.

As I started thinking about the kinds of things I wanted when I was his age, I realized that I was really into clothes, cd’s, and lip gloss. I asked my older brother, Rich, what kind of things he was into at that age, and he remembered wanting cd’s, videogames, and sports gear. But, what really surprises me is that the things that Beau is asking for are things like an upgraded cell phone, ipod touch, and a new motorcycle/dirt bike. I still can’t get over the fact that my 13-year brother has his own cell phone (and probably my 9-year old brother will be getting one soon)! I didn’t have my own cell phone until I left for college and I was paying for it myself!! Now don’t get me wrong, my siblings aren’t very spoiled, and they usually have to work for the nicer things they get, but the things they are asking for seem so different.

The funny thing is that it seems as though I missed this young-technology era only by a couple years. When I was in junior high, the cool thing was to write notes in all kinds of pastel-colored pens, fold them up in quirky ways, and pass them during breaks. Now, the primary way to communicate with people in your grade is to text them. I still get a kick out of the fact that my brothers will text girls all day long, but they are too shy to actually talk to the girls. It is almost as if the craze with texting has left our younger generations a bit socially inept.

In many ways it is a great thing that technology is being utilized at a younger age. The learning curve will be much gentler when they are required to use technology in school, new ideas and advancements will likely be created due to younger minds being trained in this area. However, I miss the days when have a blast meant climbing the tree house in your backyard cherry tree, playing tetherball with the neighbors was so cool, and summers were filled with climbing sand dunes and jumping in canals.

So, in lieu of my cell-phone-free youth, I ultimately decided upon getting my brother a Cabelas gift card. My dad is going to take him on a hunting trip this month and I figured he could buy a nice hunting knife or a vest to wear while he is out. Although it may not be the tech-savvy gift he had wanted, I think it is something he will create a memory from and will be able to enjoy for many years. He may not understand my rationale now, but maybe if I show him this blog in a few years he will get a kick out of it.