How Technology Can Open Up Your Family’s World
Technology is something we probably couldn’t imagine our modern lives without, and seeing as a new piece of tech seemingly comes out every week, it’s clear the sector is always going to have an impact on us. It’s something that allows us to escape the confines of our living rooms when we’re just lounging on the sofa, or gets us away from our desks if we’re stuck at work during a particularly grueling day. And technology can be especially useful if you’re getting tired of the day in and day out with your family- the kids always love being able to play the games on your phone! But we have to protect them and this world we live in both online and off. Which is why I always do my research to help protect kids, check out this Parent’s Guide for safe YouTube and Internet Surfing today!
The best thing? How accessible technology is, especially for the younger minds amongst us. You don’t have to go through years of training to load up an iPhone, and the only thing to be mindful about is when you’re using the internet. Thankfully, privacy settings exist in full swing, and it’s completely normalized to show your kids how to use them.
Family time has been made a lot more fun and interesting, and even that bit more exciting, thanks to the invention of multiplayer video games and sites like yesgamers; where you can buy d2r runes that will drastically improve your items by adding additional bonuses to them. Instead of having to argue over the Monopoly rules, you can hop onto your own server and have a great evening without so much as a cross word! So with all that in mind, let’s take a look at just a few of the ways technology can open up the world to you, without even having to leave your home.
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You Can Visit New Places
Technology not only mentally opens up the rest of the world, but it can do it physically too, and because of that, a whole world of childhood magic and adult wanderlust alike comes about. It’s something we can take for granted – being able to log onto Google Earth and hit whatever spot in the world we wanted or to look up an ancient monument, museum, or historical site, and take a virtual tour the owners put together especially for people like us. But all in all, even 15 to 20 years ago we wouldn’t have seen anything like this!
So we can immediately see technology is ever-changing, and for the better. Now, whilst we save up for next year’s summer holiday to Crete, that the kids have been excited about for months, we can use the internet to find hotels and hostels, kid’s clubs and rooftop bars, as well as witness the beauty that is the Knossos Palace before you get the chance to head there! And the magic doesn’t stop there either.
Thanks to the use of virtual reality technology, which has gone on to do further great things, you can take a look inside the Vatican and the Sistine chapel, you can look around the National Gallery in London, and even hop on a livestream via a drone – fly around forests and cities whenever the fancy strikes. You can make the whole idea very informative for your children, especially if you’ve got some kind of homeschooling program and the day trips aren’t paying for themselves!
You Can Connect with Friends and Family
This is more of an obvious point, but it’s one we don’t think about enough. Back in the day, probably during your childhood, the only ways to get into contact with friends and family elsewhere was to ring or write. And trying to connect with someone else on the other end of the phone could take a while, not to mention needing the perfect schedule to make sure you catch each other, and letters took a while to arrive!
But now we have instant messaging, video calling, and we can drop emails into people’s inboxes for them to get to when they have the chance to. Isn’t that just a much more convenient way to live? Sure, you can argue it’s making our children a little more impatient with life in general, but it also opens up so much chance and opportunity for them. You can all sit in front of a webcam, skyping with everyone’s favorite aunt who’s traveling around the West Coast of America. Hearing the tales of adventure in real time, and being able to watch your kid’s enjoyment as they happen, make the process entirely worth it!
Not to mention the amount of social exploring and skill boosting this communication can do. Yes, it’s a worry that our kids are going to connect with someone who isn’t who they say they are, but 9 times out of 10, there’s someone just like them on the other side of the screen. Except that person lives in another country with a different way of life, and the two of them have so much experience to show the other!
You Can Learn So Much More!
Speaking of learning… When you’ve got a wifi connection, and a kid who loves to spend their time in front of a screen, there’s so much you can do or encourage to further their brain’s development. learning is something we do each and every day, whether it’s finding out something small, such as realizing you don’t like mint ice cream, or something big, like what you learn in science class, education is all around us. So why not be sure the technology we turn to is fostering this kind of development, and not letting us stagnate?
Kids can have very short attention spans. They can be easily distracted, have a lot of energy that makes them fidget around a lot, and all in all, not take in everything a teacher expects them to. And when you’re 6 or 7 years old, you’re not going to be in full charge over what your brain chooses to listen to – so take what most people would consider a distracting prospect, i.e. the computer, and turn it into a tool for good.
You can do all kinds of learning online, big and small. You can simply go on a Wikipedia deep dive whenever you’re curious, finding out the lifespans of jellyfish or researching the royal family. Plus, there are little courses you can go through if you want to get better at a hobby, such as writing or drawing, and then there are mini-games that’ll teach you how to multiply. Kids particularly love these ones, seeing as all those mathematical areas they struggle with at school are put into a much more approachable light.
Or you can be a little more serious about things, and use actual educational institution resources. It’s a long time until your kid has to think about finding a college or a career to dedicate themselves to, but an online operations management degree exists out there, amongst so many others!
How Much Tech Do You Use?
Probably quite a lot, seeing as you’re a modern household. Both your kitchen and living room are packed out with bits of tech, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a neighbor who doesn’t own an Alexa! And because of this, we’re quite used to technology opening up our worlds for us.
But let’s make sure we’re never taking this little fact for granted, and that we know the full extent of the power for adventure right in our laps. Pick up your phone, find a fun apps list, and get the kids to see what they think. They can be easily impressed by tech, so use this to make their lives richer!
Deb E says
I’d love my folks to get connected to the internet so they could open up their world. They’re elderly so they probably have some apprehension on how safe it is. I know more targeted products out there will be developed for all ages to do just that, from kids to seniors.