In a 2012 article for the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, George Masnick wrote that the "Census counted 82.1 million" Gen Xers in the U.S. The Harvard Center uses 1965 to 1984 to define Gen X so that Boomers, Xers and Millennials "cover equal 20-year age spans"
Everyone uses a different age range. I have never seen 1984 as Gen x.
In a 2012 article for the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, George Masnick wrote that the "Census counted 82.1 million" Gen Xers in the U.S. The Harvard Center uses 1965 to 1984 to define Gen X so that Boomers, Xers and Millennials "cover equal 20-year age spans"
This is nuts. I see few similarities between someone born in 1965 and someone born in 1984
I'm with heyjude being born in 1980 makes me feel like I don't identify with either GenX or Millenials/GenY. It's like I'm in no-man's land. I thought this was a good blog post about being in the middle of the two generations: phdavies.co.uk/2014/04/02/gen-x-or-gen-y/
I can understand the challenge of parenting with technology, but the notion that I don't have any control over my kids' access and time with technology is absurd. As a parent it is my job to make sure they understand time limits with technology, the purpose of social media, and the value and danger of finding anything and everything on the internet. I sometimes find it hardest to set the example by my actions because I can make a lot more choices as an adult with my time, than they are capable of doing as a child.
Not a full time mom but a step mom to 3 teenagers and I have to ask is it really that hard for some people to set "device free times"? We have always been very adamant that there are certain times when we are together that are device free like meal times, when we are out as a family, when we are at extended family events, or basically any time DH or I say, that's enough. car rides and hanging out are pretty much free reign as long as they are done with their chores and/or homework. They give us some flak but in the end, the phones, iPods, etc. are put away.
And on the whole missing the beauty of the river BS from the article, I am an early Gen Xer and I can tell you on every single vacation I heard "put that book away and look at the beautiful scenery!" from my Dad. So it isn't because of technology that kids don't care about what is outside the car, it is because they are kids.
Well, in fairness, she does say she tries to limit technology use.
I don't think it's as simple as "if you don't like it, don't let them have it." First of all, that's much easier said than done. I'm sure it's a small minority of parents who haven't handed over their phones in a moment of desperation when their toddler is having an epic meltdown in a public place. And if you judge that, you probably don't have kids yet.
Anyway, we're talking about older kids here. Like it or not, technology is a part of life. It's EVERYWHERE, embedded in our culture. My 3 year old has been in a computer class at preschool for over a year already. When she's a preteen, she will likely have her own phone, her own computer for homework and probably a social media presence that I will only be able to monitor at arm's length. The proverbial hiding the diary under a mattress so your parents can't find it.
It's like sex education. It may make us uncomfortable. We might pine for a more innocent time (even though we know we were not so innocent ourselves). But we also need to be realists and give our children the tools to navigate this world even when we're not there looking over their shoulders. Simply saying "you can't have this!" isn't a workable solution.
I've never given my 3yr my iPhone to tame a meltdown. Not because I'm some superior parent, but because he's not allowed to touch it because I don't want him breaking my phone. Quite frankly, I can't afford to replace it so he doesn't get it. He's just clumsy and sticky, like little kids tend to be, not that he'd purposefully destroy it.
My 13yr old niece doesn't have a phone, or her own computer but she does have social media presence however the un/pw are known by her parents.
You are the parent, you can set boundaries and rules. She won't have a computer in her bedroom if you don't put one there. I wanted my own phone line in my room as a teen, my parents said no, I survived and managed to navigate the world. I don't think having a personal cell phone or computer is required even in today's technology heavy world.
I think there is just going to be a new norm. My kids see my husband working on his computer all the time since he generally is in meetings all day and does a ton of work at home in the evenings. The older kids in our school districts all receive iPads/tablets, and there is talk of the younger kids having them too. My son's school has Promethean boards in every classroom. My middle son who is on the Spectrum uses iPads in every therapy (school, one-on-one ABA, ST).
I think it will be harder and harder to separate and limit technology use. I think the key will always be to teach your children appropriate usage and perhaps a love in something non-technical if you can. While I could spend 10 hours programming (before I chose to take care of my ASD kid), I also love to craft and sew.
Post by downtoearth on Oct 1, 2014 12:05:19 GMT -5
I am totally one of those parents who are like, "Heck no you can't play on the tablet or watch your shows or play your Spiderman video game until you play outside and finish the homework." But then I will totally gbcn or check FB while they are playing outside or doing homework, when I should be making dinner or doing laundry or even finishing a work thing. That kind of irony will bite me in my ass sometime soon, huh?
Oh and my oldest kids have both asked for their own ipod touches or tablets already and they are 6 and 8. They don't have them, but they keep asking and that will probably be how they find out the Santa thing b/c they'll ask and not get them.
my personal, defining marker of being a Gen Xer, is if you were only a few years removed from the ANGST of Reality Bites.
if you were 13 when you saw that movie, you were not Gen X. But damn, if you were 18/19/20 and that movie SPOKE TO YOU, then you are Gen X
Great guideline!
I was 11 when it came out and probably didn't watch it until I was in high school, maybe college. I was born in 1982 - so although I can sort of claim some traits of Gen X, I'm a millennial.
So even though I also understand the powerful draw of the World Wide Web and social media and I participate in it enthusiastically, it scares me when it comes to my children and how it will mold and change their experience from mine. Will my children ever have their own awkward but poignant, John Hughes-worthy moments when teenagers today can have entire relationships over text messages? Would the kids in The Breakfast Club even talk to each other if they found themselves in a Saturday morning detention today, or would they spend all their time on their phones, texting their friends and tweeting about how lame it was and never actually make eye contact with one another? Would anyone today even believe that Seinfeld and friends would spend that much time talking to each other out loud about nothing?
I think we need to give up this idea that our kids should experience childhood and life the same way that we did and that our experience was inherently better.
I recently moved from the region I grew up in to a whole different part of the country, and we plan to be here a long time. One of the hardest parts of the move for me was the realization that many of my childhood experiences that I was looking forward to sharing with my children will be extremely difficult if not impossible. I felt very down about it until I realized that there are other things to do here. They will have different experiences that still create happy, lasting memories. My childhood is not the end all be all of happy childhoods.
I think it is the same with technology. Yes, my children's experiences will be different. Yes, they will interact with their peers and the world in different ways than I did, but they will still experiences life, the good and the bad. And their experiences will be just as important to them as mine are to me.
Also, parenting in the digital age isn't all bad. Thanks to streaming, my kids never see commercials and I don't have to hear continual whining and begging for stuff I am never going to buy them.
When Gen X was first coined, I was not part of it (1974). But the birth years have changed so now I am. Which is weird... I used to be part of this lost generation between X and Y. And Y is now Millenial - even though people in it were born a good 20 years before the turn of the century. So anyhoo..whatever.
The article lost me when the author went on about Atari and then said Gen X was the last technology free generation. Um, what was Atari then?
Our parents took video games, tv and computers away from us, so I don't see why this is any different. Also, on my morning commute, most of the Gen Xers have their faces buried in their phones, so I don't think this is a millenial issue.
And finally, Garden State is a dumb movie with a great soundtrack. Same with Reality Bites (which, to be honest, I don't really remember - I remember Dazed and Confused a lot more).