I have been working on a school film project the past few days (see post two previous) that is getting students from K-8 engaged in the filmmaking process. Yesterday, after one of the most well behaved classes, a 3rd grader comes up to me and asks me how I spell my last name, followed by “are you on Facebook?” I was, to say the least, shocked. You’re in 3rd grade and you’re on Facebook.. incredible. Do 3rd graders even know how to read yet?! This question got me to thinking about the world we live in today, technology wise. I love how connected I am able to be and the resources that are at my fingertips. Being someone who is less than a year out of college and having such incredible opportunities to market and promote yourself on the web is something that I am very grateful for; grateful that I’m at where I’m at in my stage of life and in the progression of the world. But I start to reconsider things when an 8 year old asks me if I’m on a site that started when I was in college.. I wouldn’t want to be in a position where all my friends were on Facebook, and had cell phones, and probably their own laptops at an age where I didn’t need any of that. Their is something about the imagination that kids need to explore.
I don’t know if it was because of my parents wise influence or my personal preferences, but I was never a one for video games. Sure I played, but not for hours upon hours like many others did. I think that when I spent this time instead, building forts and climbing trees and playing Army, it helped me get to where I’m at today. “If you can dream it, you can do it” (Walt Disney).. the problem with today, and perhaps even more so in the next generation, is that there will be far less of those dreaming and using their imagination.. instead they will use only what they know from playing Farmville on Facebook..