When I was in high school I got my first job. It was at the local corner pharmacy, long before the days of Rite Aide and CVS. I worked as a cashier. I worked there many years and saw a lot of familiar faces come through the door. There were the elderly getting their prescriptions, smokers getting their cigarettes, moms getting last minute school supplies for their kids, and teenagers getting bottles of soda. My favorite type of customer though were the young children. Sometimes they would come in grinning from ear to ear with a fist full of change to spend on swedish fish, sour patch kids, red hot dollars, and gummy worms....aka penny candy. Having that small amount of money was a big deal back then.
Fast forward twenty-some years and I think of how different life is now for these youngsters. Tonight I got a recorded call from the elementary school's principal. She was asking parents to be aware that children are creating Facebook pages, either with or without their parent's permission. She further added that rumors that started on Facebook were now surfacing at school.
This made for some interesting conversations at dinner.
Billy(6th grade): "I am the
ONLY kid in my school without a phone!"
Thomas (2nd grade): "Kids in my class have phones too. And one rang during school today".
Mary Kate (5th grade): "My friend is on Facebook".
Ann (1st grade): "Can I have more spaghetti?" (She wasn't really in on the conversation.)
Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this? I am not talking about high school students. I am talking about children who aren't even able to stay at home alone yet, but have access to phones and the Internet. To me, it's a no-brainer.
I know, I know....it's a sign of the times. And since that's the case, I must go now and check the history on my computer to make sure no one has a secret Facebook account. And to further sound like an old fuddy-duddy....
.....Honestly, what is this world coming to?
