Are Children Under 12 Now Growing Up In A Different World Than College-Age Students Did?

For those of you who grew up in the 90s, childhood was much simpler, right? The luckiest kid was someone who had a TV at his house where your entire gang of friends could watch cartoons and not someone who owned the newest version of iPhone. We have come a long way and childhood now is nothing like how it used to be back then.

Here is a short inventory of how childhood has changed:

1. Telephone v/s Mobiles: Back then we had the good old landline phones. Who uses them anymore? Everyone today is too dependent on their mobiles from a very young age.
2. Playing Out v/s Video Games: Remember the times when playing football actually meant going out to play with your friends in the park and not sitting in front of a screen for a FIFA video game?
3. Real Friends v/s Social Media Friends: Thanks to social media apps like Facebook, Snapchat, and the likes, kids today have more virtual friends than real life friends.
4. Music Then v/s Music Now: Kids of this generation and the generations to come might never feel the joy of making a mixed tape for their best friend. They have their sleek iPods and music is easily available on the internet.
5. Toys Then v/s Toys Now: Toys or no toys, kids back then could play if you literally gave them a stick for a toy. But kids now are surrounded with high-tech toys.
6. Fewer pictures v/s Selfies Today: Back then, kids never had easy-access to cameras or recorders. You were lucky if you still had some albums from your childhood. Kids now have iPads and iPhones and live in the selfie era.
7. More Patience v/s Need for Instant Gratification: Kids today are so addicted to technology that they have lost the ability to sit still without constant stimulation from their gadgets.
8. Books v/s Kindle: You truly experience the joy of reading when you hold the book in your hand and let your imagination travel with the story. But alas, books are dying a slow death with technology increasingly replacing them with kindle and audio books.

While it may be too late or the damage technology has done may seem irreversible, it is never too late to learn how to put your gadgets away and be a part of the real world to enjoy your childhood better.