Growing up in the digital age

(Picture of "New Born Frame", a graduation project by Laura Cornet)

Children that are being born these days, will grow up with technology everywhere around them. They will never know a world without social media or smart devices and are even being raised with technologies. (They already now how to work an iPad perfectly. Just watch this video and you will be amazed.) It's very interesting to imagine what this generation will be like when they're older. How will this generation grow up? Will technology create a future generation with nerds, wizzkids and digital entrepeneurs?

Just five years ago, when technology wasn't that big of a deal yet, parents were struggling with combining children and technology. They asked themselves if they could allow their children to play with so called "baby tablets" or show them videos on the computer. 

Nowadays, little children are being raised with technology and digital devices. Their pictures are being shown on all kind of social media (mostly Facebook and Instagram), they play games on their parents' (or sometimes their own!!) tablet and in extreme cases, mothers are already creating FB pages for their unborn child (yes, really).

(Glass Session: Madame & Bébé Gayno by Google Creative Lab)

 

There have been several speculations about Google launching Google Glass for babies and little children too. Obviously, this isn't the case. YET. Right now Google is saying in their FAQ's that you shouldn't let children under 13 use Google Glass, but I can imagine that in about five to ten years, something like Google Glass will be there for young children too.

 (Selfie made by a baby. Picture of "New Born Frame", a graduation project by Laura Cornet)

Letting your one-year-old decide whenever he will post something himself on social media. Sounds like something strange to you? Well, Laura Cornet decided that children, even that small, should be able to experience the sensation of social media themselves. For her graduation project she developed a concept called "New Born Fame", four baby-products which can be used by the baby to put and express himself online. To Laura it's not a joke, but a serious subject. She wants to make people/parents aware of the use of social media for their children and how this use could influence their childrens' life. "What is considered to be okay, and when does it go too far? And, even more important: who is in charge of that decision?"

And yes, indeed: who is in charge of that decision? Research done by Currys & PC World demonstrates that 4% of prospective parents set up an account on a social media platform before the baby is even born (Dailymail). And when the baby is born eventually, it takes approximately 57,9 minutes before the first picture of the newborn child will be online (The Telegraph). Do those children even want this? Obviously they have no saying in all of these, but what'll happen when this generation will be older and find themselves all over internet, including pictures of their childhood and Tweets of happenings they can't even remember? Will they accept it since they grew up with it or will they detest their parents for doing so?

The only thing I can say is that whenever I will have children, they definitely won't get a smartphone when they're just two years old! (NO, JUST NO)