Kids today have a lot. Wow, have things come a long way; every day living, job opportunities, entertainment choices, a plethora of edible delights from which to choose, cars, TV shows, sports and instant happiness at the swipe of the finger.
But is it always such a good thing?
Here is a list of 10 Things they may think are the coolest thing ever, but upon further inspection, it just may not be all it’s cracked up to be:
10. The Internet
Never before has a book report been so easy. No going to the library in the pouring rain, walking between the aisles of colored book covers, looking through the card catalog in the Dewey Decimal System, lost in the alphabet of authors and titles.
But…you never know who you may run into at the library. A friend, a cute guy or girl, striking up conversation with a kid you never knew you knew and asking what’s so good about the book he’s about to check out and then diving head first into a conversation about the main characters. Interpersonal communication, right then and there.
9. 12-Packs our Suitcases of Your Favorite Soda
The bigger the better, if your mom lets you have it in the house. So many, never running out of your favorite Dew, Pepper or Coke. Ready and chilly for the taking right out of the fridge. Before you know it, you’re down a six pack and laden with a bloated belly. Still plenty left to go with the Nacho Cheese Doritos later.
But yet again….remember the tipping of the bottle of Coke, with the ice crystals on the outside, turning to drips of condensation down the side of the bottle, as the cold, syrupy liquid poured down your throat? Well, at my house, anyway, it was once in a blue moon we got even ONE, and when we did, it was pure appreciated heaven in a drink.
8. Over 900 plus Cable Channels on the Dial
No time to be bored with TV. There’s always something on at any time of any day of the week, to laugh, cry, jump in your seat or be riveted. And if you miss it…no matter. Behold the power of the DVR. Sometimes over 5 of them in your house. So, at your own time…pausing it when you like, speeding through the commercials. Just the facts, man.
However….do you remember the Halloween season when “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” came around, or when you weren’t certain they would find Bobby and Cindy out in the cold desert unless you tuned in or who in the hell really shot JR unless you were sitting right there on your sectional couch, if you were lucky enough to have a bottle of coke and a bowl of popcorn….if you weren’t watching it right then and there…well, too bad. But there was such an excitement to the moment!! The thrill of the “NOW”-ness. Lost today, it is.
7. Microwaveable Dinners
Everybody’s in a rush. Gotta eat it now. Don’t have time to wait for the oven to preheat. It’s all good. Fast enough for me to get to where I need to get. Dinner is served.
Don’t know about you…but I remember fondly the days of a home-cooked meal in the oven….the smell of the meal, the enticement it held as I waited for a bite. I’m not sure kids today would even know how to set an oven to 400 degrees.
6. Club Sports
It’s where the men are separated from the proverbial boys. Where the “real” players are discovered, made and honed to be the superstar of the ages. School sports deemed second fiddle, the red headed stepchild, the “just do it for fun” second cousin. Demarcation lines are drawn, set and crossed deciding who made what team, and only the best of the best excelled. Priority one. Gone all night, gone all summer, in a gym all winter, weeknights, weekends and Sundays. A must if you want to kick some ass.
Don’t get me wrong…I love sports as much as the next guy and gal…even played them. But….back in the day, it was all about the school sport….and the “made in the offseason” playing of the sport in the backyard, the court in the alley, the bumpy grass field in the empty lot and the open ice rink a train ride away. Nothing arranged, but the joy and the hardcore dedication without even knowing it was there. Made us good. We had fun. Made us better. And let us be home for a family dinner.
5. iTunes. Spotify. Pandora. Apple Music. Alexa. Ear Buds, Beats and Wireless Headsets.
Seriously can jam anywhere you damn well please. Any song. To go with any groove or shake of the tush. Whatever mood you’re in, find the beat.
But I remember…waiting for the album to drop. And by drop, I mean going to the music store and looking for the 12-inch, listening to the sample on the record player at the store, with the needle scratching the vinyl, maybe even skipping, and watching it go round and round and round….It was all about the environment….the posters of Bad Company, Boston, Stevie Nicks, and Bruce lining the walls to the register. Felt like I was at a concert.
4. GPS
Seriously, no kid is ever lost.
But…I personally think there’s a benefit to getting lost and having the astuteness and presence of mind to get out of a jam. We knew how to read maps, how to use a compass, road signs, Trip Tik Directions. I mean, there’s going to be a day when your battery is dead or there’s no service. What then?
3. Grande Skinny Extra Shot Extra Hot Add Whip Cafe Mocha
600 Calories
Coffee. Black
5 Calories
2. Smartphones
I honestly don’t think kids can live without them , and I’ve seen huge tears when lost or damaged. Sure, I may have even cried them myself. Married to them, never leave home without them, can be found at any minute of any day with them and use them to guide us through life and socially interact. We do, come on…we really do.
I remember being in sales when I lived at the beach. Well, I was …literally at the beach…playing hookey. Nobody called me, nobody knew. I was …beeped. So, I made my way to an air-conditioned building across the street to a pay phone , on my time, with my senses intact, and called in. Big Brother wasn’t watching…because he simply could not. He could only imagine.
1. Ipads and Computers in School
Sure, they’re easy and they hold the world of knowledge and mathematical equations right at the students’ fingertips.
My biggest beef is this: I remember the days of taking notes. Handwritten notes. And hanging on every word the professor/teacher had to say, and scribing them fervently on note paper, in outline form. I would study them to memory later, for the test, and recognize my own special way, my own handwriting, and I would visualize those very same notes on test day. No black and white typeset words on a white screen…but personalized notes to remember. The very art of technology is the dumbing down of American intellect.
So, I ask you, and I ask them, the kids who think they have it so great, do they really?
jensumandthensome 