It wasn’t until I was 16 that one of my friends got a Nokia 3110 phone. It was essentially useless for months, as no one else in our friend group had a cellphone and service was very expensive. Eventually, more and more friends got cellphones and we were able to send 160-character messages back and forth. Around the same time, I started using the internet. It felt clunky and awkward, and my computer made a weird noise when connecting online.
By comparison, my 1—year-old daughter, Saga, was born into a much more technologically advanced landscape, where using information technology and connecting with people online is an unquestionable state of reality. Sometimes I wonder if this will create a divide between the two of us. Will we be able to relate to each other as she gets older and more immersed in the digital world?
When I feel worried, I think about my late granny, who was born in 1917, 10 years before television was invented. I always knew she came from a different time, but that never mattered to our relationship. There was always something we could do together: go for a long walk, play in the park or read a book. Sometimes, she would simply look into my eyes and listen to what I had to say. That’s the kind of communication that never gets old and survives any technological change.
This article was originally published in Seven Days’ monthly parenting magazine, Kids VT.
This article appears in The Innovation Issue 2018.
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