Teen's & Digital Media.

            I tell you what, the teenager's now-a-days have it made. Between the cell phones, computers, games, and even the television they hardly ever have to become creative to know what to do to keep them occupied. Sometimes this can be good but sometimes it can all be a thorn in your side and make you wished they would've never been invented. As a mother of 5 teenagers I can say that with full honesty. Take cell phones for example, as a kid growing up I remember seeing people with cell phones but they were huge and carried in what looked like a suitcase and it was unusual to see a teenager with one. Now, it's unusual to see a teenager without one. I love the fact that I can keep in touch with my kids at all times but I hate the fact that I have to worry about them getting into an accident because their talking or texting on the phone.

            Then there's computer's. This is an invention that I love but, at times, wished would've never been invented. As my kids were growing up I made sure they always had a computer so they could keep up with their school work and to use the different learning programs that I bought for them. It wasn't until my kids turned into teenagers that I started dreading this wonderful invention. I went from making sure they were learning and getting the most out of the computer, to making sure they're not learning things they're not suppose to be learning and that there's not some pervert trying to make them his next victim.

            And games? Wow, between the computer games, such as World of Warcraft, and the X-Box games, such as Halo Reach, I've really had a fight on my hands. My kids laugh at me all the time because I'll watch them play some of these games and all I can say is "whatever happened to Frogger?" My youngest son made me feel really old when he asked me what Frogger was. It wasn't until they became teenagers that I actually realized how much games have changed, especially the violence. The most violent game I can remember growing up was Astroids. But then again the most violent cartoon I remember growing up was Popeye and now they have cartoons like Courage the Cowardly Dog and Southpark.

            It really amazes me how much digital media has evolved just in the past few years, and although I get disappointed at times with some of the ways it's all used, overall I think we should still move forward and look outside the box when it comes to digital media but along with that I really hope that parents do the research on these advancements before they are introduced to their children. That will be the only way that parents can keep a good thing from turning bad.