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| Mother's Bed Art Board Print by TET. Available from RedBubble. |
Today’s kids may have access to more information that may give them more choices but in my experience, they only take in what they want to hear and still make stupid, uninformed decisions. Just like we used to at their age.
Like any cross section of people there will be exceptions. There are kids that are genuinely smarter, more mature and responsible for their age. However the vast majority know everything they need to know by the time they turn fourteen. They’re ‘adult’ enough to be responsible for all their own decision making so parents should just let them do what they please…right? Just like we thought at fourteen.
Don’t be fooled. Just because your son knows how to download MP3’s onto an iPod, or your daughter can chat to five friends at the same time on her mobile phone, this does not make them smarter. They just know about different stuff to you.
Chances are they have no idea about wash cycles, settings for different fabrics on an iron or that vacuum cleaners have different heads for different surfaces. Many would not have a clue about fixing a leaky tap, unclogging a toilet or cleaning up a beetroot stain.
This generation is no smarter than any generation that came before. Having access to more information does not mean that your kids are accessing more information. They’re still just as self absorbed and worried about ‘being cool’ as you probably were at their age.
This generation is no smarter than any generation that came before. Having access to more information does not mean that your kids are accessing more information. They’re still just as self absorbed and worried about ‘being cool’ as you probably were at their age.
Our kids are not smarter than their parents. Don’t let anyone tell you different – not even Dr Phil!
Hello...
ReplyDeleteI just signed up to this site and was curiously looking through other blogs. I just wanted to tell you how much I liked your work. It's really soulful. Best wished from across the globe.
H.W. Dudgeon
Thanks very much, always great to know my work is getting seen internationally. I apprciate that you took the time to let me know.
ReplyDeleteQuite true TET...we all have something to bring to the table, and those which came before us have passed the food with much wisdom. We stand on our parents shoulders, and so forth, and so on.
ReplyDeleteHear, Hear! We have the wisdom of experience, which, hopefully, we will all gather as we mature! Most do, some don't - some never do! I always thought I was more mature for my early teens, not being allowed to run with the crowd, but our technology was the 'new' transistor radio of the sixties, as big as a small shoe box, but not as wide, with 'convenient' carry handle for portability!(no ear 'phones in those days) Next it was the 45s smaller records, as against the huge dinnerplate size bakalite 78 LPs, which became vinyl in the 70s, but with more than one song on each side.
ReplyDeleteI am doing my best with the technology and have come a long way with the computer, and am pleased that I am abreast with the computer age - thanks to TET - but I didn't think I would ever use the computer when he gave me my first old one! (have a spanking new one now after 6yrs!)
The mobile 'phone my daughter got me leaves me in a bit of a whirl, even though it is only a basic pre-paid one, but I have done some text messages which takes me quite awhile with the small letters, until I have memorised where they are!
Now - where is that digital camera that I have had for 12mths with the info book at the ready on the coffee table! I'll be into it soon! Really!
The reply above is actually from me - David's Mum. I just came across it in these old posts. Don't know why I've got Anonymous down, unless I didn't realise I could put a name, or that I had thought of one then. I can't believe I wrote this post - good - isn't it! (don't really expect any accolades for that statement, as that's all it is, just a statement! )
DeleteBTW, I forgot to say that I'm still plodding on with the technology! Do have mobile mainly for texting, but just a Seniors' phone, though I do have one that I could put the 'net on but it would need updating. Didn't want to become one of those people with their heads down in their phones. I like to know what's going on around me when I'm out.
DeleteMy grown-up children do know more than me when it comes to the tekkie stuff, but I agree, they don't all know the basics of living from day-to-day as mentioned in the other posts. I have lots of wisdom to share with the younger ones that comes with experience, that they don't all have yet. Some of the old ways still stand up. That ad about doing power point (what's that anyway, but I have heard of it! Ha-ha) or adding up differently I just blow a big raspberry to it! LOL!
This is really just a reply to acknowledge your additional comments, I don't really have anything to add.
DeleteMaybe you not knowing what Power Point is highlights the point of the article in that they just know about different stuff. A kid who knows Power Point inside and out might not have a clue about Gardening or baking a cake. Kids can seem smarter in specific areas but that doesn't make them smarter overall. Particularly when it comes to life experience.
I agree.. with two small boys I'm sure they will know a lot more than I will by the time they are 14 in terms on technology and how things work (my 6 year old is currently learning powerpoint at school.. I'm going to get him to teach me!) having said that, it certainly doesn't prepare them emotionally for life, that is the parent's job. I still believe that it is the parent's decision to decide what their children are exposed to in terms of technology and entertainment. My kids are only allowed to watch kids movies that I deem situable for them and play games on websites that I choose. Not sure how long I will be able to control their environments for, but do you know what? I'm never asked for the latest "cool" toy that is plastered all over the ads on kids television.
ReplyDeleteLauren.
That just screws with my head knowing that a six year old is learning powerpoint in school. Even though computers were still new in my younger days you couldn't get near a course teaching you how to use one until Secondary School...and even then you had to choose it as an option (which I didn't because art was my focus).
ReplyDeleteYou should consider using objective data, rather than basing your argument on your subjective opinions and insights. Consider this:
ReplyDeletePhyllida Brown
A CLICHE it may be, but you have to admit it's true. Most kids are much better than their parents at programming the video or setting up the new computer. Almost certainly they can thrash Mum and Dad at video games. And they probably think they are smarter than their parents. But here's the surprise: those kids may be right. If IQ tests tell us anything at all, today's young people really are smarter than their parents. Studies from numerous countries suggest that IQ scores have been rising fast since at least the 1950s-enough to mean that someone with an IQ classed as average then could be labelled as having low intelligence today. Humans, it seems, are getting cleverer and cleverer with each passing generation.
Thanks for the insight Nicolas. I have two points to raise as a response...
ReplyDeleteFirstly, this blog is entirely about my subjective opinions and insights (my 'point of difference'). People can certainly disagree with my opinions and prove me wrong with actual data but if they're looking for well researched reporting then perhaps this isn't the blog for them. I like to think of this blog as being like a conversation rather than an essay.
Secondly IQ tests only measure 'intelligence' as opposed to my technical term 'smarter' (LOL) which covers more than just intelligence. My post is talking about 'collective knowledge' i.e. everything that contributes to how smart a person is, not just whether a person can do well on an IQ test.
I can do fabulously well on an IQ test (better than my partners kids whom are more than half my age) but stick me in the middle of a jungle with a native tribesman (who may not even know what an IQ test is) and tell me who's 'smarter' in surviving in that environment. (I don't recall my IQ tests ever having questions about surviving in a jungle).
My point in this post is that kids aren't actually smarter they just know different stuff, usually of a technical nature or to do with technology, which makes them seem smarter.
However when it comes to filling out a tax form or balancing a house hold budget so you have enough money to cover all the bills without blowing it all on DVDs, Video Games and fast food... well there aren't many 14 year olds that have a clue about that.
"However when it comes to filling out a tax form or balancing a house hold budget so you have enough money to cover all the bills without blowing it all (out)"- I completely agree with this statement. There are tons of different technologies out there that makes life a little bit more exciting and convenient, which as expected of older generations, wouldn't be able to catch up to the younger people. That however doesn't mean you have to blow out all expenses to buy these in bursting nature.
ReplyDeleteform 2290
I don't think they are smarter if by that you mean they have better brains. They think better on their feet; they can solve problems on the spot without being told what to do; they are better at working with shapes, thanks in part to the Internet and the computer. But they have no larger vocabularies and are no better at arithmetic.
ReplyDeleteirs tax attorney
I completely agree with this, I am a highschool student into all sorts of computer related things. I have taken 4 classes dealing with design, i know my way in and out of a computer. But i dont know a bit about a wash cycle or how to iron cloths. I just take it, you turn the nob on the washer and it starts.
ReplyDeleteThis realy let me see ive got a long way to go, and i dont know it all.
And they should be but are not, particularly history, if you are under 30, history is..Bush bad, Obama good. End of lesson
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