The entire world has become on-demand.
Tivo has made it possible to pause and record live television. For a monthly fee, you can get more channels than you will ever watch, as well as the capability to record shows with the click of a button. No more bulky VHS collections, it is all stored digitally now.
The Internet allows us on-demand news, music, videos, movies and pretty much anything else we can think of.
Companies like LAUNCHcast Radio have blossomed from America’s inability to listen to a regular radio station.
LAUNCHcast offers free or paid radio stations (like most online services, that translates to ads or no ads) where the listener can choose songs from a list or choose a genre and let the computer decide.
The possibilities of controlling media are endless.
We can burn our own CDs, develop photos instantly with digital cameras and make many purchases from home.
I am beginning to wonder what kind of impact this will have on children that grow up knowing only an on-demand world.
I have a 2-year-old daughter that understands that I have the capability to turn on her favorite cartoon at any given second, and make images magically appear on the computer monitor whenever she asks.
She knows that we can draw on a digital doodle pad, hear any song she wants or play games with Little Bear and Franklin online.
What kind of impact will this have on children? One of the most important lessons in life is that not everything happens instantly.
How do we teach our children not to expect instant results when this is all we give them?
What happens when these children are adults and want to lose a few pounds?
They will make an appointment with the local plastic surgeon for some liposuction.
Why diet when you can pay for instant results?
I have thought a lot about what it would be like to grow up in the world my daughter knows.
I can’t imagine being able to have almost anything you want as a child being right there whenever you want it, but then again, I can’t imagine life without television or CDs.
I can imagine saying things to my daughter like, “When I was your age we had to wait for things to come on TV.”
I enjoy having the ability to see and hear almost anything on my schedule, not the schedule of a radio or television station, but I have to wonder what consequences this might have on children today.
I am as guilty as anyone of wanting to make their children happy all the time. I want her to remember a childhood full of fun and excitement.
What parent doesn’t want that for their child?
But I also know that having everything at my fingertips does not substitute for time spent with her.
Suddenly, just when it became so fun to stay at home, it also became vitally important that you get out of the house.
Go out, do something. Show yourself and your kids, if you have them, that life is not really like the Internet.
Everything is not always there exactly when you want it.
And if you simply can not live without your favorite sitcom, just put it on your DVR and watch it when you get home from reality.

Author