Nowadays in 2022, we live in a very digital world. Everyone has multiple social media accounts, you need your laptop for school and we’re constantly communicating with each other through our phones. There is almost no activity that you do not need some sort of digital device for. However, it’s not always been this way. This ‘digital world’ I’m describing is something that has been upcoming over the last few years. In the present time when a parent needs their kid to be quiet, they give them an iPad and they don’t hear from them anymore. But when I was younger my parents used other strategies to keep me quiet, because it was not usual that everyone had an iPad. I personally had my first phone at the age of 10, whereas children today already have three iPads and two phones when they are nearly 4. Obviously I’m exaggerating a little, but my point is that in my opinion digital media is indispensable in a children’s life nowadays. That makes me think about my own childhood, and I would like to look back and see how I started using digital media more and more. So sit back and relax, and then I will take you down my personal road to digital media use.
Back in the old days
The first type of digital media I came in contact with is the television. Television channels such as Nickelodeon, Jettix and DisneyXD were watched a lot in my childhood. The second I got out of school the TV was turned on and I watched my favourite series during the afternoon. There was a maximum screen time of course, so besides watching TV I spent a lot of my time playing outside or with barbie dolls. When I reached the age of 9 or so, I discovered computer games. It started during the breaks at school, where I would spend most of the time after lunch on the computer. First it were just games for girls such as doing a fictional characters’ make-up, dressing a fictional character or trail games, but at some point my interest shifted to another game called moviestarplanet. This was a game where you can create your own character which you can play games with, but you can also meet other people on there. I was such a avid player of moviestarplanet that at some point I even payed money to unlock certain extra options. Just playing it during school breaks expanded to playing it on the laptop at home as well. When I look back, you could most certainly say that I might have been a little addicted.
Playing tennis in the living room
I think somewhere around the age of 10 my parents purchased a Wii for me and my sister. A Wii is a home console which you can connect with your TV and that you can play games on. Some of my favourites were Wii Sport, a game in which you can play several sports such as tennis or boxing, and Wii Party, where you could do all sorts of mini games. The Wii also forced you to get a little active, because you had to make certain big movements to activate the game. I remember the Wii as something I used regularly, so in that way it is a digital device that played a big role in my childhood.
Being your own Beyoncé
Last but not least the iPad was introduced in my household. At first it was intended for mostly my parents, but my sister and I started to discover some fun games that you could download on there. There was one in particular, called Videostar. This game gave you an opportunity to make your own videoclip to any song you like. I’m not exaggerating if I say that I’ve made more videoclips on there than Beyoncé did in her whole entire career. I guess you could compare Videostar a little bit with Tiktok nowadays. Except for the fact that the video’s that I made on there were not shared with other people on the app.
Grateful for my ‘less-digital’ childhood
I think television, computer games, the Wii and the iPad were the first four forms of digital media I came in contact with. They’ve had a big influence on my life when I was still a child, but I’m glad that I also enjoyed doing other things that did not have anything to do with digital media. In my opinion, a lot changed when I got my first phone and came in contact with social media. When I entered high school, social media became a big part of my life and my usage of digital media increased a lot. Of course, this has everything to do with just becoming older, and at the same time the digital revolution took place. As I said in the beginning of this blog; the world has become a lot more digital than it was several years ago. To a certain extent, I am grateful that the world was less digital when I was still a child. I think it is a good thing that the main focus in my childhood was on playing with friends, going outside and going on adventures. I’m afraid that children nowadays might miss out on this opportunity, just because it is so easy to grab an iPad and play games the entire afternoon. Besides that, I don’t think it is very good for a child to stare at a screen all day. I think that might be a good subject for my next blog; write about the effects on children of digital media use. So if you’re interested, keep an eye out for my blogs and maybe an interesting piece about this will follow.
Regarding this blog, I concur with you entirely. I am really grateful that, unlike many children nowadays, I was not a “iPad baby.” If my parents decided to turn on the TV, it would be my only source of entertainment; otherwise, I would either go outside and play or read a book. I do recall learning about GirlsGoGames.com while I was in middle school. It featured a variety of cooking, dressing up, and puzzle activities. It was the only thing I can recall thinking about after finishing my homework, so I remember being a little bit addicted to it.
However, I was still exposed to this technology in middle school when I was about 12 years old, which is far preferable than when we first learn about it at a younger age.
Normally, parents would strive to spend time with their children to keep them from becoming distracted by a device, but circumstances have changed, especially during the Covid period when parents and children must be present while the parents are working. When parents find it difficult to spend time with their children, Ipad is the next best thing to keep them engaged.
I hope we find to a wicked problem like this in the changing times!
I think we had a similar online upbringing, and I agree with you that I wouldn’t have wanted to start any earlier. I’m curious what your social media/internet usage is like now as compared to when you first were so involved in it!