this time of year i always start to suffer from technology overload.
black friday sales kind of kick it off advertising super "low" prices on flat screen tv's, computers, nooks and ipads and a zillion other technological devices. then it runs throughout the whole holiday season. everyone seems to want the "new" kindle or the "new" ipad or a bigger and "better" tv for christmas. i just don't get it! i come from a family of techies, many of whom work for big techy companies! but i am just not one of them.
don't get me wrong, i love my iphone. but that's pretty much it. i mostly use it for the camera. we are a one tv family, and i am proud of that. and more often than not, when the tv is on it's because it's playing one of the music channels (solid gold oldies, what what.) i am a firm believer in no tv's in the bedroom (grown ups and kids alike), and i think computers belong in your home office.
as for the new technological reading devices, those scare me the most. first i should say that i am a big proponent of reading no matter how you do it. i realize that reading on a kindle is kind of the writing equivalent of journaling on a blog. but i just can't do it. isn't one of the best parts of reading a book the way the book smells? and holding the pages between your fingers and feeling the sense of accomplishment that you get when you're over halfway through a book and there's a thick chunk of pages behind you and a small chunk waiting ahead? that's the best feeling! i could never give that up. books, books, well loved, well read books. with worn bindings and soft edges that tell a story all their own.
in a fast paced technological world, i want to be one of the families that holds still. i want to spend christmases around our piano singing... not taking turns on guitar hero. i want to use our tv to watch old movies snuggled up in blankets on the couch together... not in bed falling asleep with infomercials on. i want to glance over at billy reading the paper in the morning while i make coffee. i want to take finn to the library. i want him to grow up to be the kind of kid that wants a swingset for christmas and not an xbox. call me old fashioned, but that's the way for me!
5 comments:
I know just how you feel. :) We try to strike a balance between technology and the good old-fashioned stuff. We have one Kindle that was a gift from a family member but we don't use it much. We both have smart phones but we also like writing down our schedule in a paper planner. We have one TV in our living room and removed the one from our bedroom a long time ago. We have a Wii but use it for movies or (very few times) working out. I think it's okay in moderation but you have to know when to turn it all off!
Totally with you. Our one TV actually doesn't work because we never switched over back in 2009. Silas had just been born and I was busy with other things, and didn't want to have the temptation of plopping myself (or Lydia) down in front of the TV. We let the kids watch kid shows on the computer, but otherwise-no TV. They are clueless about commercials. And it's great. They have wonderful imaginations, love going outside, love books, and love the library--where we borrow DVDs that we can take back!:)
Absolutely! I'll never trade in books for a Kindle. I even want a library in my house of as many books as possible, with comfortable chairs and lots of natural light :P
AMEN. To everything you said! Since it's gotten cold, I've fallen into having the TV on way too much. I hate that glazed-over staring look that kids get when they are watching TV too long!
Hmm. I love my Nook, especially for travel since it's lightweight and I can bring as many books as I want to read on my trip without weighing down my bags. However, I just purchased a hard copy book I read on my Nook, so I agree that having the real thing is quite satisfying. I also bought a lot of books via Amazon for xmas gifts this year for myself and friends and some of the coffee table ones are really beautiful and that's not something you can accomplish with a computer screen.
As far as TV goes, I have my shows that I feel compelled to watch on a weekly basis, some guilty pleasures and some intellectually stimulating, so we differ there also. But with that said, you've got a baby consuming your free time and I don't, so I can imagine things would change for me if I was in your situation. However, we've got this ginormous TV in our bedroom (you've seen it) and I honestly kind of hate it and hope it dies soon. It's bulky and usually all I want to do when I lay down in bed is fall asleep and instead I have to put up with Steve watching an episode of Pawn Stars for 30 minutes while I cover my face with a pillow. TV is def. a family room activity.
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