It just had to happen. We have all seen cranky kids driving their parents to distraction in the supermarket - more Pop Tarts, more chocolate milk, get me out of this cart!
Well today was a turning point, mostly turning to show how out of date I have become. At the self-checkout scanners in the local Harris Teeter, the check-out line was waiting for the ultimate, final decision between a father and an approximately 6th-grade daughter (oldest of three).
The ruckus was about: Instant Messaging.
Mind you I do not even know how to IM, but the father was determined that the girl should help mind the younger two siblings, help with the shopping, help with bagging and make the effort to get out of the store ASAP (we've all been there).
The young girl was determined to check her messages because:
1. She had not the time for checking ALL afternoon and messages were piling up.
2. Mom lets me do it.
3. There's no rule about NOT IMing in the store.
4. My friends want to know what I am doing.
5. You never let me IM when I want to.
I am not kidding, it was a page out of my own adolescent but on a technological level I never thought possible. And the final straw for the father: She wasn't actually doing the texting part, just checking the missed message list. Dad was about to have a melt-down.
Which led me to think about the absurdity of teenagers not talking. As I remember high school, a daily hour long study hall but if you were working on a subject you could get a pass to the library. The pass part was needed to keep too many students from overloading the library and making too much noise (then just talking was the problem).
So-o-o if kids no longer talk in the library, what are they doing? For years we did not want teens talking in the library and now that they are silent....we do not want them texting either (?). What is wrong with this picture?
The Internet is such a large part of their lives that it may not be long until they are grown with young children (who also text), then they will still argue in the supermarket but likely they will be texting each other instead of shouting. Does that make sense?
What's the IM code for "I am the parent and you're not?"
bbf
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