Technology: Practising and preaching

Children learn more from what we do than from what we say. How might you react if you were absorbed in a game or film on your laptop and a friend or family member took it away from you, saying, ‘This isn’t good for you. You’re spending far too much time on the computer. You need to go outside and get some exercise.’? You’d probably feel annoyed. And what if they then sat down with your device and became absorbed in using it themselves? Double standard, right?

Technology is seductive. The range of content available to watch, play and listen to is enormous, whether you’re a young child or an adult. But like making children drink milk ‘because it’s good for them’, while we sip a Coke or a beer, we must remember to practise what we preach.