We often groan when we hear our parents say it: “When I was your age…”. That sentence often leads to kids preparing for a lecture or story about the “good ol’ days”. However, when you think about it, previous generations grew up very differently than kids do right now. A major reason for that is technology. There were no smartphones, tablets, or GPS back then. People didn’t Facetime; instead, they went to go see their friends in person. If analyzed, the difference that technology has had on childhood is huge.

What’s the difference?

When asking people born in the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s how they grew up, the responses were very different from what kids experience today. However, the people interviewed had similar responses.

CAP Advisor Ms. Puentes says that she “was always outside”. She remembers that her parents had to always call her back in and “all the neighborhood kids were the same.”

While television was popular in her time, it wasn’t as constant as it is now. Ms. Puentes recalls the limits that were in place back then, with morning cartoons and an occasional movie at night being the staples for kids to watch.

Ms. Rivero, the activities director, mentioned that she used to rollerblade and ride her bike when she was growing up. Her family belonged to a social club, and she spent her years dancing flamenco.

Ninth grade administrator Mr. Zabala discussed that he had a more adventurous time growing up, recalling that he would spend his time “getting on rafts and going up and down the Miami River”.

What changed?

Future Educators of America advisor Ms. Berrios feels that “students are becoming socially awkward. She points out that kids in her English classes “spend an entire year together and don’t even know each other’s names.”

In my opinion, that is extremely unfortunate because the social skills that one can build in the classroom can be used anywhere in life. Students learn to accept people’s differing opinions, speak up in front of others, and other important lessons. It can be difficult for students to learn these when they spend their time looking at their phones.

Technology has caused people to move away from interacting face to face to seeing each other over a screen. Kids no longer socialize as they used to. While before, friends would go over to each other’s houses and play games, they now spend their hours using FaceTime to talk to each other.

A study done by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association claims that “68 percent of 2-year-olds use tablets, 59 percent use smartphones, and 44 percent use video game consoles.” The study mentioned that technology can have a drastic change in the way that kids communicate: “Human interaction is key to developing strong communication skills,” and devices seem to be interfering with that.

Before, children would dream of entering Toys R’ Us and having their parents buy something. Now, the multibillion dollar corporation is going out of business. This came as a shock to almost all of the previous generations who have spent their childhood roaming the aisles of the toy empire.

While this may be because kids are beginning to prefer devices over toys, it is also caused by online shipping companies, such as Amazon. They facilitate shopping by forcing customers online and not into stores.

Are kids’ imaginations being limited by technology?

Back in the day, kids got used to staring out of the car window while their parents were driving, while kids nowadays are hunched over looking at a tablet or phone. That cuts all of the thoughts and fantasies that they could be pondering over the course of the ride. Instead, the device creates a scene for them, which could cause them to not use their creativity to stay entertained. Science teacher Dr. Ricknauth agrees with this, saying that “games are being made for [children] already.”

While video games can help kids with developmental learning, they can also limit their imaginations. The American Association of Pediatrics stated in their new guidelines for children’s media use that kids need to spend less time looking at a screen and more time playing on their own. 

They explained how children “desperately need more free time to develop a sense of wonder and discover their passions and purpose.” To me, this means that parents may sometimes think that they always need to keep their kids busy; however, leaving children to themselves might actually prove beneficial because they would have time to explore their imagination.

Mr. Zabala claims that “technology structures your thinking in a certain way.” While it can develop some freedom for thoughts, it can also “restrict your ability to think outside the box.”

Ms. Berrios sees this differently. She claims that technology can actually assist people in thinking. She explains how people now have access to free outside help, such as tutors, that they would have had to pay for before. “Technology is able to equalize social inequality,” she claims.