Let's Rethink It...Just a Tad Maybe

Image by Whiskeygonebad via Flickr

In one of our sessions in class, we were having a discussion about media and several people, including myself, expressed our feelings toward some of the simpler, more people oriented, "quality time with family" aspects that are separate from the media we see today. While I still believe that some things like board games, family discussions, story time, and activities (without the sound of a television, computer, or video game system in the background) are important and necessary in the cultivation of a tightly knit family, I think there may just be a way to incorporate these new forms of media in a way that really does promote closeness.

Sunday evening my fiance and our parents and I had dinner over their house and we really had a great time talking. I don't know how/why youtube got on exactly but once it started playing, it didn't stop. One person had a hilarious video to show and then someone else remembered their favorite and so it went. Starting with about 4 versions of the National Anthem that were hilarious disasters and continued as we watched

• beauty pageants and models fall
• a Police officer shoot himself in front of a classroom of kids and then pretend he didn't
  
• a girl fall off of a table
• a remix to music of a girl fall off of a table
• a funny kid trying hard to sing

We all gathered around the computer and talked and laughed and joked and had a genuinely great time.

To add to this point I recently spoke to someone who said they had started playing Wii with their children which served as time together.

The more I think on this matter I can surely see some benefits both now and in the future. Maybe there can be an online community where parents and children can submit their favorite bedtime story creations, or possibly submit their own digital works of art into contests (they can do that now I'm sure!).

I can definitely see the internet, if utilized properly, as an enriching way to bring families closer, and develop adolescent skills.

Okay okay I admit, its not all bad ; )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uDc5tQxmJY