Life Isn't a Competition

A discussion in one of my classes inspired me to speak my mind a bit.

There’s an article on CNN debating on whether 11 year olds should join Facebook.

Seriously?

Are we really going to have this conversation?

Kids under 13 years of age do not have any business being on the internet.  If they want to keep in contact with their friends, there's a telephone.

Nowadays kids at 8 are getting Ipads, IPods, laptops, cell phones to text; it's ridiculous.  I know technology is big now and has been for a while, but it's getting out of hand.  When a 5 year old can work your Iphone better than you can, you have a problem.

When I was younger, I was outside playing basketball, playing catch, riding my bike, playing hopscotch.  Kids nowadays want to sit in the house all day in front of their television, or on their DS game system, or want to play games on their parent's phones.  And, yes, I'm aware that this doesn't go for every child, but for a majority of them it does.

It’s not of importance for a kid to have a Facebook account.  I understand how much the world has changed since I was younger; but honestly, life isn't a competition on who has the latest gadget.  It's not a popularity contest. These are the kind of things we should be teaching our children.