Innocence, which is generally lost in the transition from childhood to adulthood, plays a very important part in everyone’s life. In searching for definitions of it, I came across an interesting one: “Not corrupted”. In the past, children, at least until they reached adolescence, were seen as innocent and playful. However, nowadays technology seems to be wiping out whatever remains of childhood. When I was a little kid, I had to beg my parents to get me the latest Barbie; now children are given laptops just for fun and learning. At this point we can all agree in that this generation is trapped inside a computerized world, and that computer games have an enormous influence on these young lives. What we get as a result, are children who spend more time staring at a screen than reading a book, which unfortunately leads to a limitation in their imagination and language skills. Besides, through the media and cultural pursuits, children are practically forced to make sense of materials intended for adults and not for their imaginative, artistic and highly creative mind. Clearly, television can be very entertaining and even an educational tool. This being said, there is a theory known as ‘Social Learning Theory’ which upholds that children learn by watching, imitating and assimilating. Consequently, everything around them can become a negative influence and have a damaging effect on them. We are aware of this and yet, when we see signs of disruption of a kid’s innocence we tend to feel awkward and helpless. As children grow up, the adventurous mind they used to have is lost in time with the responsibilities and tasks that are given to adults. For this reason, Children's innocence, imagination, and artistic capacities, should be preserved for as much time as possible. We as a society ought to protect these qualities, not corrupt them.
I waitress for a catering company and therefore I attend many events. Last Saturday I worked at a kid’s birthday, which was in a recently-built and very modern house. What took me by surprise when I got there was that the kids were nowhere to be found. I guessed they hadn’t arrived just yet. After we set up the kitchen I went to the ladies’ room to change. But before I could reach it, I heard voices coming from a bedroom and I could not help taking a peek at it. There they were. A couple of girls, a few boys. All of them between the ages of nine and fourteen. A little girl was at the computer listening to music, (when I say musi0, I mean a song with inappropriate lyrics) another one was text messaging with her IPhone. The boys were playing video games and the rest (of the crew) were watching TV and having an energy drink called Speed (which is for adults only). I continued my way to the ladies’ room and I could not help feeling sad. These were just kids…behaving like adults.
This is a serious problem. Apparently, children view themselves as grown-ups and therefore are starting to act like them. To make matters worse, adult’s attitude towards them has also changed. Instead of taking the initiative to inculcate creativity and imagination in their kids and engage them in constructive activities, they tolerate unacceptable things (like staying in front of a TV for several hours) or do not know how to control them. Of course this leads to bad behavior (among little kids) and a stressful time for parents. It goes without saying that the new generation is learning and adapting fast to this increasingly technological society and as time goes on, there is less and less room for innocence. This is why I was so confused when I read ‘The Little Governess’ because I could not imagine a kid nowadays talking with a stranger and falling for everything they say. In their everyday behavior, the language they use, the things they know and above all in their relations with the adult world, children have definitely changed. Maybe it’s just me, but I do wish innocence in young kids was never lost. However, childhood continues to be, not only a time for growth and development, but also the greatest opportunity to imagine things beyond existence and we should continue to encourage and promote this qualities for as much time as possible. After all, it was Pablo Picasso who once said: “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
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by
plabadet (student)
