Technology and Multi-tasking

I was intrigued by the videos that we watched last class (Jan.11/11) in that I've never really contemplated the affects media has on children's everyday lives. During my last practicum slot I was somewhat appalled at that types of music my students enjoyed (Ke$ha anyone?) and I did discuss with my CT how some material was inappropriate for middle years students to be viewing (Jersey shore comes to mind) but I suppose that I feel it's inevitable. We can't possibly monitor what children are viewing (I personally believe that is the responsibility of the parents) but I can see how it can affect our teaching practices. And is viewing this type of material impacting the development of children or skewing their perspective on the world? Obviously no one really has the answers but it's interesting to think about.

I also related to those videos more than I would initially like to admit. It's easy for me to dismiss the behaviour of the children on the video who were texting 200 times a day or using their computer while watching tv, as I'm probably worse than most of them (I sent over 4000 texts last month and it's very rare that I am not multi-tasking in some way or another). But I like to feel as though I'm a little better behaved than those kids on the video as I still have "real" relationships. I am able to hold a conversation on the phone or in person and I don't depend on technology as my only means of communicating. Technology is more of a tool to keep in contact with people I may have otherwise lost contact with.

I'm also very particular about the types of technology that I choose to adopt. I love my iphone and could never go back to a "normal" cell phone. I love video games and am usually an early adopter of new consoles. But I have a nearly 6 year old laptop (ibook G4), which sadly performs worse than my iphone, and I'm using a 20" tv. So in some ways I'm technologically savvy whereas I fail miserably in other regards.