Is Technology Eroding the Basic Values We Learned Growing Up?

I pulled an article out of The Wall Street Journal back on May 31, 2012 and stuck it into my ‘I want to write about that’ folder. This is normal for me and when I find something that I feel I have something to say about an article in the news. I will pull it out of a magazine, newspaper, etc. and tuck it away. The article that caused me some concern was called, ‘Screens Get a Place at the Table – Restaurants Try to Make It Easier to Pay, Keep Kids Entertained; Bigger Tips for Electronic Waiters?’

The part of this article that caused my face to go into contortions was the part about keeping kids entertained. Call me old fashion but why exactly should a child be encouraged to sit and watch cartoons or movies at dinner time instead of interacting with his or her family? Where are the days when we taught our children how to converse with adults, share their day and find out if anything was array with their life? When my children were growing up, dinner was a time for the family to sit down together and actually talk. It didn’t matter whether it was at our dining room table or a table in a restaurant. I feel like the children that are growing up around me are losing such important part of what makes us human; interaction with family, friends and even with waiters at a restaurant.

At Chili's Grill & Bar in Rosemont, Ill., 7-year-old Alexis plays a game on a device provided by the restaurant near her mom, Lisa Lundvick. It's 'one of the reasons' the family of five goes to Chili's, says her father, Joe Lundvick. Picture from The Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street shared some statistics in this article that I wanted to share with you. For instance ‘52% of diners would use an electronic payment system.’ Yea, I guess I am okay with that, but I still prefer to have a real person to take my order, deliver my food, and insert some laughter and light conversation while checking on my dining party, and in return I want to tip them accordingly. I enjoy the interaction with other people and feel that our lifestyles are eliminating the need for people to actually talk to each other. We meet some really great people when we dine out. We dine at the Sandpearl Resort on Clearwater Beach at least 2-3 times a month. During that time we met Saundra…one of the funniest, warmest and sweetest ladies I have ever met. I think we go to the Sandpearl just to see her.

But I digress…the other statistic they shared was that ‘31% are likely or very likely to use screens with games or Internet access on tables.’ I guess if you were dining alone you might take advantage of quiet time to play a game or access the Internet, but really…if you are dining with someone would you pull up a game and let them sit while you diverted your attention to an electronic device? The same goes for mobile phones. It is not uncommon to see a family sitting at a table in a restaurant and all have their noses stuck in their phones. Where is the conversation? Where is the interaction?

Okay don’t get me wrong…you will see my nose stuck in my mobile phone at times. I am a social media addict and I also do it for a living. However, I think because my business is based on technology I try to balance technology with human social interaction. Both my fiancée and I work with the Internet so it is easy for us to get consumed with technology at times. We have a strict rule – no phones when we go out. We bring them incase our kids need us – but no surfing or checking mail. The time is about us – and we work hard to keep the outside world out.

The biggest problem that I see with this added technology is how it affects our children. Kimberly Nasief-Westergren told the Wall Street Journal that during her monthly visits to Chili’s she, ‘turns the screen away from her 11-month old son and 3-year old daughter – We want to engage her in a conversation.’ I can’t tell you how good it is to hear a mother say that…really…how many parents do you know that shove their kids in front of a television at home so they don’t have to entertain them? When our 6-year old grandson comes over to visit us on Sunday, we say no video games. This is our time to visit with him and learn about what is going on in his life. We try to do activities together such as playing an old fashioned game of hangman or swimming in the pool together as a family. We also sit down and have a home cooked Sunday meal with no TV. His parents do the same. They work to balance his time on video games and schedule time for him to read or practice his handwriting. They play board games as a family and interact with him in activities that do not revolve around TV or video games.

Teaching kids to engage in conversations, ideas and stories is important and I feel like our children are going to grow up not understanding how really important this is in developing relationships with their family and friends. Technology does play a critical role in our development in many places. In our businesses, in our schools, and even in our personal lives, but when do you draw the line? I think creating balances in our lives is a perfect example of how we can maintain human interaction and still use the technology that makes our lives easier and more organized.

 It is true that video games for children teach them to focus, concentrate and improve their motor skills however, not to the point that they go from the Nintendo in the living room, to the DS3 in the car. Teaching balance or setting schedules allows children to participate in other activities such as playing outside with friends, reading, sports, or doing activities inside the home such as setting the table at dinner or helping prepare dinner. Debra-Lynn Hook said it best in her article on azcentral.com titled, ‘How Is All This Technology Effecting Our Kids?’ with this tip, “We may not know how to open a Twitter account. But we do know how to open up conversations - about texting at the dinner table, about maintaining decorum and privacy online, about such things as plagiarism and the Internet. We know how to set rules and boundaries according to our individual family's values. We also know how to be aware of our own technology patterns and habits that our children see and model.”

Technology brings a wealth of great things to our lives and to those of our children but don’t lose the nucleus of your family unit to technology. Reinforce and set boundaries with yourself and your children. An important point to remember based on your age, you may not have grown up with technology but your children don’t know any different. To them, technology is something they have known since they were old enough to interact with it. If we don’t teach them to create boundaries now how will they learn to do it as an adult and in turn teach their own children when the time comes?

Failure Was Not an Option...

A tough place to live, even tougher to find a job and a sense of community; but tough love brings hope even in the smallest ways. Like those created by Jackie Victor and Ann Perrault founders of Avalon International Breads in Detroit, Michigan.

Jackie jogs every morning on the Detroit River taking in the beauty that only she can still see. You can hear in her voice the passion and community commitment she feels for the area that others see as failed and broken. Jackie and Ann started a business in downtown Detroit with hopes of creating a team that would support and help bring back the community.

I found Jackie and Ann through this video while researching ethics and social responsibility. I have to admit that I didn’t make it all the way through the video without tearing up and feeling such a huge amount of pride for these two women. Hearing the community talk about the impact they have made and researching their website shows the level of commitment that each has and continues to share with their community.

Once the fourth largest city in the United States, we have watched the population of Detroit decline according to the 2010 census (http://www.rethinkdetroit.org/, 2011). We watch the news and read the articles on how the once alive city has died…the pictures of a once vibrant community of proud auto workers show buildings abandon and falling apart. The streets are empty compared to years before and the community of the past is broken to the point that makes your heart hurt. Avalon may not have fixed the problem but they feel they are on the verge of making a difference in this community.

Celebrating their 15-year anniversary, Avalon has become a core in the community and as one patron shared, ‘It would be different if Avalon was not here; it is an anchor…an anchor in the community’ (The Entrepreneurial Spirit – Avalon, 2012).

The patrons of Avalon are from all walks of life in the Detroit area, they come to support Avalon in the same way that Avalon supports the community. If you read Avalon’s Facebook page you see comments like the following:

·         “Detroit is blessed to have Avalon” (Susan Dennis Olis, 2012).

·         “Congratulations! You two were the pioneers in the development of the area” (Jessica Totovino, 2012).

With 4,492 followers on Facebook they have a strong community involvement with fans that interact with them regularly.

Baking bread is not the only thing that Jackie and Ann take seriously, this is showcased in their support of their community. Taking part in the betterment of the Detroit youth Avalon recently teamed up with the Downtown Boxing Gym for a fundraiser. “The Downtown Boxing Gym provides a rigorous program to help Detroit youths excel in physical training, academics, and community service.” It is so refreshing to see the commitment they have to the community.

Learning about Avalon and the impact they have had on the Detroit community was so heartwarming. In the smallest way they have brought a grieving city together and over the last 15-years they have made a difference in the lives of those that live in the community. Ethics, morals, and social responsibilities are words that people throw around casually but in the case of Jackie and Ann they took the steps to show their commitment.

With neither of them having business or baking experience, they simply worked to try to re-build a community with a desire and passion to succeed. Failure was never an option because they did not know any better. So when you ask about their ethics, morals, and social responsibilities you could say that these two wonderful women hold the highest of ethics, morals, and devotion to their community and a dedication to make it beautiful and flourishing again. They have built a piece of the foundation that can be used to help others build and grow, both personally and professionally.

There are people who volunteer, and there are people who lay their entire lives on the line to make a difference. Although both are needed the latter are usually few and far between so when we find someone who was not afraid to try and made it work it makes us feel proud to be a part of this crazy world.

The perfect ending or should it be the perfect beginning to the Avalon story is a quote by Jackie, “In some ways bread is the metaphor for everything that we are trying to create. Bakery is a hearth which is something that has always brought people together. It’s a universal food, it’s nutritious, and it’s of use” (Victor, 2012).

http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com/films/the-entrepreneurial-spirit-avalon#fbid=ApAY-e4zmzH