Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Are Children Growing Up Too Fast?

By: Isis Nicole

The day I returned to my hometown, I was amazed at the sight of my 7-year-old brother playing with his Nintendo DSi. I tried to be the cool, older sister. So, I decided to share my gadget owning days in an effort to relate. Back in the day, I had a Gameboy Color and a Polaroid i-Zone. I went on and on about my experiences and to my surprise, he interrupted my story with a click of a button. My photograph was taken instantly and morphed right onto the screen. He made my image look deformed, laughed, and said, “Ice, I’m gonna put you on YouTube.” I wondered, how in the world does he know about YouTube? Furthermore, how does he know about blackmail? More importantly, why does he have internet access?! He’s only seven! 

Not too long after the run in with my younger brother, we both met up with our six-year-old sister. She wasn't flashing pictures in an effort to blackmail me, but she was having a fit about her Nintendo DSi battery dying. “I need to connect to Jordan,” she said. I was confused. It was mind bottling that they were so comfortable with technology, like mini experts. 

Here I am, a 20-year-old college student with a box full of stuffed animals, trolls, and notes, while my younger siblings are already concerned with social networks and video games. I can’t be too upset, because unlike most children their age, they still play outside for hours. As long as they still get fresh air and a chance to use their imagination, I’m okay with them having a blast playing Mario. I mean, all I got were board games, cheap graphics, and plastic.

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