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© IB OPINION day, June 8, 2023 | ZIT SEEMS EACH g GENERATION OF 3 PARENTS MUST ¢ CONSTANTLY DEAL E WITH THE IMPACT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY ON THEIR CHILDREN, WRITES GRAHAM HOOKEY When I was growing up, my parents thought record players, and later Sony f Walkman, were a waste of time, not to mention the fact that they fundamen- with tally disagreed the music I listened to. When my children were growing up I thought tele- vision and video games were a waste of time and I dramatically limited their exposure to either. I funda- A GRAHAM HOOKEY Column mentally disagreed with the ae ot >{glevision ie time pro: and the ag ae on de. structive objectives in vid- eo gam Now, ‘here we are, inan age where many parents think social media is a waste of time and where they fundamentally dis- agree with the invasion of their children's privacy and the access that social media grants others to their children's time and attention. it seems each genera- tion of parents must con- stantly deal with the im- pact of new technology on their children. No doubt some cave parent, vmition years ago or so, objected to his lazy kids using a wheel to lighten the load! The problem is always the same. The young gener- ation easily gravitates to new technologies and un- derstands and utilizes them considerably faster than their parents. Whatever seems adequate to them be- cause it's what they use in their already relatively well-established routines. But young people don't share those routines and are constantly looking for 01 pt" T have lately spent more time reading about artifi- cial intelligence (Al) and the developing metaverse. ing two generations out of the newest technology, I have to admit that learning a little about these topics is like learning a forei; guage — not everything is making sense and it's tak- ing more time than I'd like to see the whole picture. Still, the bits and pieces I can understand are enough to make me wonder what the next generation of par- ents is going to have to deal with. After all, ‘echnology has been evolving extre! ly rapidly under human guidance; how fast will it evolve when AI takes over? Even those who have been involved in the anen opment of AI are raisii alarms about the risks, and are suggesting govern- ments and regulatory agencies need to develop policies sooner rather than later to control and man- age the utilization of these new technologies. But if there is one ‘we've learned over the millennia, TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES PARENTING it's that trying to dampen This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division ofthe Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. young for new technology has on- ly lit a fire under that en- thusiasm. Every policy will finda young person finding a way around it; it's what young people do best! Social media develop- ment was driven by people in their late teens and 20s. The metaverse and AI will be driven largely bya youn- ger generation that will embrace and expand upon it and for the vast majority parents who stand back and watch it evolve, it will a new and frightening Rowdee I feel pretty confi- dent that bottle-feeding or breastfeeding will pale as a “problematic” parenting is- sue in compariso1 Graham Hookey is the author of Parenting Is A Team Sport (Amazon Books) and can be reached at ghookey@yahoo.com. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants a wri Council Suite 20), to Nanae St, ronto, Phone: A16- 3A! 981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca nne | Aocna “Saat | Canada editorial@waterloochronicle.ca facebook.com/waterloochronicle @uichronicle WHO WE ARE Publisher and r Vice President, Editorial Lee Ann Waterman Metroland Editor-in-Chief Paul Berton Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira GIFTS THAT AREN'T STUFF CAN LEAD TO SURPRISES AND ADVENTURE IT'S OFTEN A STRUGGLE TO COME UP WITH GIFT IDEAS, ESPECIALLY WHEN TRYING TO HAVE LESS STUFF INSTEAD OF MORE, WRITES DREW EDWARDS Turns out, there are bet- last 20 years or so, I have given my wife a set of feet warmers as a gift. Like a § number of traditions in our s 9 family, it started as a lark 8 # and has now taken ona ie of its own, to the poi 3 Chere I would likely be it mn 2 g trouble if I didn't make it DREW EDWARDS: Column ippen. Don't get me wrong, these are not run-of-the- mill, boring old socks but usually premium, I'd-nev- er-buy-these-for-myself type socks. The labels often feature words 1 like "Mi this much for these." That said, they are still just socks. And while there are often other presents in- volved. we often get something for the house called a "we gift" — it's of- ten a struggle to come up with ideas, especially when we are actively trying to have less stuff instead of rast Christmas, I sur- prised my wife by buying her concert tickets instead of a gift. She loves the co- median Trevor Noah and while he wasn't coming to Canada on this particular tour, he was playing in Schenectady, N.Y. We'd never been to Schenectady and this seemed like as good a reason — perhaps the only reason — to make the trip. We spent the entire My hour drive chatting. wife and I spend a _ ot time together and enjoy each other's company, but much of that conversation often centres around the practicalities of day-to-day life. Being away from our usual spaces and out of our normal routine, we have a different perspective on our lives and our future — and the time to share them. The show was great anc Schenectady was interest- ing, one of those American manufacturing towns try- ing to will its way to a re- birth. But it was the time my wife and I spent togeth- er than was truly the most enjoyable part. Among the many, many things we discussed: we should do more "things" and buy less "stuff." Es) cially when it comes to Both my wife and I have reached that stage of life where we are somewhat particular in our tastes. I like shirts of a cut and style (old man hipster vibe), sweatshirts with open bottoms, and I'm very chased whatever it is she wants orneads without. any advi guidance fro me. “our house already feels cramped with the sheer volume of items we've accumulated over the years. Another gift, no matter how well-meaning, just adds {0 the pile. But now that the kids are older — one them has even, gasp, moved out have the ability to wo things, to go on adventures big and small together. I can't think of a better way to spend our time and mon- y. My wife can even wear the socks I bought her. Drew Edwards of Guelph also has cham- pagne taste when it comes to socks. If you see a deal on merino wool, email him at drew@drewedwards.ca.? SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA sentatives Jan Bodanka, Matt Miller, Lisa ae imphreys, Cassandra Del Managin g Editor Robyn Wilkinson ‘Online Editor Loraine Centeno Ned Bekavac Reporter ap Jackson Director vices Paul Gos tin iterloo Chronic! 219 Labrador Dr. suite 203, Waterloo, On., N2K 4M8 Phone: 519-886-2830 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca rs to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. 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