The App Generation
This book, by Howard Gardner and Katie Davis talks about the youth of today navigate, identity, imagination and intimacy. The authors propose that a world permeated by apps can be wonderful but we have to wonder whether all of life is just a series of super-apps.
They also ask the questions...
Are we slaves to apps? Do they make us lazy?
Do our technologies control us or do we control them?
I found this book very interesting as both an educator and as a mother to two teenage girls. Both of my girls have Iphones and mostly spend time on Pinterest and Spotify. My older daughter occasionally uses Facebook. Neither of them use their technology an excessive amount or feel compelled to text all the time, so they may not be "typical" in their answers, but I decided to interview them nonetheless.
Piper is 13 and in 8th grade. Darby is almost 16 and in 10th grade. I found their answers interesting and compelling. I interviewed them separately so their answers weren't influenced by the other.
Which app would you say brings the most enjoyment to your life? Why?
P: Pinterest because it has a lot of pictures of things I like, including books, movies and TV shows.
D: Spotify because I listen to music a lot.
Do you think apps make you lazy? Why or why not?
P: No but it is convenient. I guess if people use them too much it can make you lazy
D: Sometimes, because it's easy to get caught up in it... like it can make you neglect what you're supposed to do because it's time consuming. (different interpretation of the question)
Do you think that apps make you feel more connected to others? Why or why not?
P: Not really... I don't feel connected to the people whose boards I pin. I just like their boards.
D: Not really because I try to interact with people in person. I don't friend random strangers. However, a lot of my friends make many online connections.
What is the purpose of the app?
P: For convenience in your every day life
D: Convenience.
Do you think kids your age put forth their "shiny selves" online?
P: No not really.
D: Yes, some people do it, but not me.
Would you consider yourself part of the app generation?
P: Yes I think that people are controlled by their technologies and apps.
D: Everyone uses apps, not just my generation... so not really.
Interviewing them helped me gain a greater understanding of their viewpoints. I do think it's important to be mindful of our connections to others. To not allow the superficial online interactions to replace our more meaningful and personal in person relationships.
I thought it was interesting too, to try to explain to them the idea behind apps making us lazy. In regards to Pinterest, I told Piper that if you wanted to create a bulletin board of your interests 30 years ago, you had to go the library, photocopy pictures or cut them out of magazines and then place an actual bulletin board in your room. I won't share how many Pinterest boards she has, but let's just say she would run out of wall space to do it in real life.
Regarding Spotify, I let Darby know that you used to have to save your money, ask your parents to drive you to the record store, buy the record, come home, play it on your record player, hoping that everything worked and nothing was scratched. Now, she has instant access to free music that she loves.
It's amazing the world we live in. Once again, I think the biggest takeaway from this book is to be mindful regarding your online use. Enjoy your apps. Allow them to make your life easier.... but don't let them cheapen the hard work of someone else. Someone wrote that website you just pinned or the music you instantly accessed. Taking advantage of someone else's work isn't bad, but it can make us lazy if we allow it to do our thinking for us. Maybe we can use apps to save time or make the creative process easier or more accessible. In this way we can fulfill one of our greatest needs, to be truly creative.
Enjoy the ability to FaceTime with someone hundreds of miles away but don't let that be the only interaction you have with them. Do the hard work of getting in the car and driving those miles so that you can see them in person from time to time. As human beings, we have an innate need to feel connected and apps can help but not completely meet that need.
Enjoy the ability to connect on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest with other like minded people, but know that those connections may not be as deep as you want them to be. Don't let the false sense of community isolate you. Get away from your laptop, go outside and talk to your neighbor.
These are all a work in progress in my life. Just because I'm 46 and grew up without apps does not mean I don't rely on them heavily now. My next door neighbor and I text all the time but it sure is fun to see her in person.
If you're still with me on this long brain dump of mine, thank you. I look forward to seeing you all in person very soon! :)
Hey Kim! Sounds like you have some very reasonable kids - it's refreshing to hear. I like that Darby says "everyone uses apps, not just me" to indicate that she isn't really part of the "app generation". That terminology is not fixed or official, but I bet if she were looking at herself from your point of view she would understand why we classify people her age as such. Not a good thing or a bad thing, just another way that people relate to each other!
ReplyDeleteI think that interviewing your kids was a great way to approach this topic, Kim! It sounds like you got a lot out of it. I think it's very interesting that both of them said that their apps don't make them feel more connected to other people. I think it is so important to realize that these apps do make our lives more convenient, as your kids pointed out, but aren't substitutes for "real" experiences. You're right. We should plan the road trips that allow us to see faraway friends, instead of just relying on FaceTime for contact. I think that ethos applies to so many other contexts. Instead of simply paying the $9.99 each month for Spotify to bring us an endless stream of tunes, we should support musicians by paying to see our favorite bands live. We should patronize our favorite restaurants, go on real dates, paint real pictures and send real mail. We should go out and be in the world; we should experience things "live", not just digitally. I think as long as the adults in the world model this positive behavior, then our kids will know the value and limitations of our favorite apps.
ReplyDeleteI didn't grow up in the app generation either, my first college paper was typed on a word processor! I enjoyed your interview with your daughters - it's always eyeopening to get the perspective of those immersed in it. For our youth - they know no other way, we on the other hand remember all the time it took to do what they do now in seconds, but we do enjoy all the benefits that technology has brought us, so we are also a part of the 'app-generation' as we integrate technology into our lives, albeit not as swiftly as those darn whipper-snappers! ;)
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