The Christmas catalogues are pouring into my mailbox, the newspaper is fat every morning with sales circulars from the local stores, and once again, electric razor ads are on TV (hint: no male has EVER bought an electric razor--spouses and significant others think this is something men want).
Just a year ago, I bought a progressive scan DVD player for $150, which I thought was a bargain. At that time, many progressive scan (better quality pictures) DVD players were often over $200. This morning, I saw an ad in the paper for a progressive scan player for $29.95.
It is amazing how much things have changed. I was in a small town restaurant two nights ago, eating dinner, and they had a stack of old magazines by the cash register. I picked one out to thumb through while eating. It was from 1998--a scant six years ago. In it, they had a short article explaining that DVD was this new kind of computer disc that could be used to play movies. It was treated as some exotic novelty.
Six years later, in our house, it's way too much trouble to watch a videotape. Remember those? Those old, antique things with moving parts, fuzzy pictures, and NO bonus material, director interviews, outtakes, dubbing in sixteen languages, or any of the other stuff that no one ever looks at but now comes on every DVD.
As an advocate of technology use, I find myself embarrased at the cheap junk being thrust upon us. Kid's toys are wretched excess. It seems that this year, virtually every toy made has about $5 worth of electronics (we're at a point where the cost of the batteries exceeds the cost of the electronics in the gadget).
Regrettably, I'm afraid that too many people think their kids will be technologically illiterate if they don't have electronic "books," electronic "first word" toys, electronic drawing games, and so on. The current crop of electronic "drawing" toys are apalling. The low resolution, the lack of printing ability, the lousy color choices, and the lack of appropriate tactile feedback are just the technological shortcomings of these things. What is much, much worse is the lack of intellectual adventure offered by them.
There is still no substitute for a sheet of blank paper and half a dozen crayons. You have an almost infinite array of colors (by combining and mixing, an important intellectual development activity), it's permanent archival storage (can be stored on the fridge door for years), and there is superb tactile feedback--also critically important developmentally for children.
The fact that this sort of device can be produced and distributed cheaply does not mean it is automatically a good idea. And that is the danger of the cheap electronics--we have to sort out what is important and what is not.
None of these devices really contribute to what I call "technological competency." Being able to use PowerPoint, as an example, has nothing to do with being technologically comptent. Being facile with PowerPoint is a learned skill that says nothing about your ability to use presentation software to express yourself thoughtfully. In fact, most of you would probably agree with me that PowerPoint seems to have a net effect of making virtually any topic duller than sand.
Owning and using a lot of gadgets does not make anyone smarter, better, or more thoughtful. In fact, there is a growing body of evidence that exposing young children to too much TV, videogames, and other electronic gadgets is actually causing changes in the wiring of their brains, and it's not at all clear that is desirable.
If you have kids, buy them some Legos--just the plain ones, not the dumb theme kits. Legos, blocks, paper, crayons, and other toys that have no programmed purpose are the most challenging things you can give your kids, because it forces them to think--to come with their own ideas for how to do things. That's what is lacking in most toys today.
You'll also save a bundle on batteries.