Over the past 20 years, it has been nothing short of amazing to witness technological advancement at its finest.  We’ve gone from Atari to Wii, from mix tapes to iphones, and cartoons to CGI.  The digital revolution has yielded so many important additions in the fields of math and science, and by the explosion of the personal computer the entire approach to education has shifted just by the presence of Microsoft Office, let alone the other various multimedia programs available these days.   I have to wonder is all of this technological stimulation coming at a cost on the younger generations?

Take a moment to recall some of your memories from growing up.   I have vivid memories of gallivanting around the neighborhood with the other kids, playing Kick the Can and Manhunt late into summer evenings.  As one the first families to move into a newly built house in a developing neighborhood, I was lucky enough to find myself surrounded by similar families with children moving in one after the other, as well as a plethora of settings for adventures to take place.  With homes being built around us, sometimes we would wander into the sites as kids on summer nights and create imaginary existences.  One of the basement foundations of my neighbor’s home became my friend Michelle and my Witches Lair, where we would concoct “potions” mixing together water and dirt and then go “cast spells” and spy on our siblings and parents.  On other afternoons we would walk down to the equestrian trail nearby, picking blackberries from the bushes along the trail, and then we would hike across the field into the shady solace of the creek.  At the age of 12, a group of us including my neighborhood cohorts and our younger siblings, headed down to the creek and found an old rope swing, which after some makeshift reinforcing, we would use to swing over and into the creek.

In retrospect, my parents probably would have been appalled at some of the activities that took place.  By no means do I think that everything we did was the safest option, and as an educator and medic coordinator today I would never condone children playing at a construction site – unsupervised or otherwise.  However, when I see how students find entertainment today – often through technological means – whether video games, internet video, music media, and so on, I start to understand the value more and more in the way I found entertainment as a kid.  We learned how to be creative and imaginative, and how to take care of ourselves and one another.  Through interacting with our environment, we learned how to problem solve.  There were days when one of us would fall into the creek; we would help one another out, and find alternate ways to cross the way or adventure onward. 

Emily Hermes

While students today do learn problem solving through video games, spending hours a day living in this alternate existence alone leaves students at a greater disconnect with one another.  Some studies speculate that the increase in children being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is directly linked to the amount of television and video games being viewed by children today.  While using technology has plenty of perks, when it comes to students, I try to urge them to use it in moderation, and temper it with creativity and imagination.  While the students we get are only immersed in nature for a few days, I can only hope that this bit of exposure to the tangible world will be remembered as they head back down the hill to their electronics once again.