Pass on Technology Skills

This afternoon I was at a school function with my wife and daughter. As we were walking down the hall I noticed one of the kids using a cell phone to text message someone. What surprised me is that she was only in the third grade.

I suppose that a child of 8 or 9 using a cell phone shouldn't surprise me. After all, I started teaching my youngest daughter how to use the computer when she was three.

But seeing a child that young using a cell phone better than many adults made me take a moment to think wonder if teaching young children how to use the available technology in the world today is a positive thing for our society.

Children nowadays have an amazing array of technological gadgets at their disposal. When I was about 8 or 9, I can remember spending hours in front of my friends TV playing the video game Pong. That was the most amazing thing that we'd ever seen at that point in our young lives.

Today, children think that many of the following gadgets or technologies are as common as fire or the wheel:

• Cell Phone
• Portable DVD player and TV in cars
• iPod
• Xbox or PlayStation
• Play Station Portable (PSP)
• Wireless networking
• Digital cameras (what's film?)
• Laptop computers

Even a technology buff like me can sometimes feel as though I'm struggling to keep up with my teenage children. Technology has infested our society, and in most cases I think that it's a good thing.

While seeing a young child text messaging someone on a cell phone surprised me, I believe that teaching children how to use technology is important. In the case of the child I saw this afternoon, she could use her cell phone to get a ride or call someone if she is in trouble.

I'm not alone in this opinion. Firefly Mobile provides stripped down cell phones for children. Although the plans are not the most economical, I think that this company provides a good indication of how technology can be put to good use.

Can technology be overused, especially by children? Sure. Like everything else, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. But overall, I believe that teaching our children how to use technology is a very important part of their education.