Would've Written This Sooner

But, had to reply to a few hundred text messages...

This scenario is probably not as far-fetched as it might sound. In fact, it's probably what teachers and parents are hearing from kids failing to do their schoolwork (or rather not hearing - who's going to admit the real reason?). The Kaiser Family Foundation has a study to prove it.

We've known for quite a while that kids are spending more and more time with their digital media - laptops, pda's, cell phones. What we didn't know was how much time. The results are startling to say the least: seven and a half hours a day! And, even that is not an accurate calculation as kids are multitasking and therefore combining about eleven hours of media usage into that time. It's scary...

But, what's even more surprising on the surface is that not all of these kids are happy doing it. One would assume that keeping in touch with friends or the latest song would provide hours of happiness. But, as reported in this NYTimes' article, "The heaviest media users were also more likely than the lightest users to report that they were bored or sad, or that they got into trouble, did not get along well with their parents and were not happy at school."

It is only surprising on the surface, because when you stop to think about it, it makes a lot of sense. In fact, it's what the older generations have been worried about. All of the concern for the lack of outdoor time or the loss of human contact, the physical pains from playing video games or the emotional tolls of constantly needing to be "up-to-speed" with all that is happening in the world are not just old folks who don't understand. These voices should serve to remind us that these devices and ways of communicating should never become our way of life, just add to it.

These technologies have become so intertwined in our lives, it's hard to see life without them. But, it's important to take a break from anything that is consuming our days to reconnect with people or just to reflect. And, technology is no different.

Books As Kindling?

This story is a few months old, but it's too fascinating to let die. Cushing Academy, a prep school outside of Boston, MA, has decided to take bold steps where books and the school library is concerned. Believing that the future is digital, the school is going to do away with most (if not all) of its 20,000+ collection of books.

Electing to invest $500,000 in a new learning center, Cushing is looking at technology to replace traditional books. Are gadgets like Amazon's Kindle, the iPod Touch, and of course computers making books obsolete? The schools actions seem to suggest so...

The mental image of a bookless library sounds completely absurd. How will kids learn to research? What about the benefits of looking at shelves where you might be reaching for one book, but notice three or four other related texts? What about students who don't have financial resources to pay for these technologies??

The reality? 1. Students are already doing most of their research online. 2. Search engines return more results than you could possibly find on a library shelf. And, 3. Schools (especially private schools like Cushing) are making sure every student has the same access to technology, often including sending students home with laptops and handheld devices.

It does indeed sound bizarre. Most of us would never want to give up our libraries. And, the experience of holding a device cannot compare to the feel and smell of a book. But, technological advancements in almost every arena bring about changes that we first resist. Newspapers are struggling in the face of free information online. DJ's have made the move from vinyl to mp3. The counter-arguments sound so familiar - about the look and feel of newspapers/records, etc. - and the thought was unimaginable a decade or two ago. Yet, here we are...

Not having books is a scary thought... But, is it scary because we're losing so much? Or, because we can't imagine what life is like without them...