Collideoscope

Posted by: David Bunch

Stu posted a great link to an article a guy wrote detailing his experiences while going offline for one month. The article is very thought provoking. This sentence especially got me to thinking:

My first week offline was mostly spent in a state of withdrawal. I suffered from bouts of extreme boredom. I realized I hadn't been bored in years because I'd gotten in the habit of never giving myself the chance.

When we were kids the great Christian thinkers (and even some non Christians) wrote about the benefits of less television and even recommended that parents limit or abolish t.v. viewing altogether in order to allow their children to "go out and play" and discover other means of engaging their imaginations. It is said that Dr. Dobson allowed his kids to watch one 30 minute t.v. program a day (of his choosing)!

So is the internet the great time waster and intellectual de-stimulant for my kids' generation? In order to help them be productive individuals, will I have to limit their internet activity like my parents limited my television activity? Probably. Because already, when we really need to get our 14 year old's attention, the first thing we do is pull the plug on her internet privileges. I've talked to other parents who do the same.

There's a lot of truth in Elliot's article. I know I've been challenged to divide my day into "online and offline".