Oh I don't read, I just look at the pictures - Part 1

For those of us either with young children or expecting them soon, the problem of what to put into the little darlings' minds is a persistent concern.

Should we even have a TV in the house? Maybe TV but no cable? No TV before age 7? No video games...ever? Or maybe just "thinking games" or "strategy games"? Maybe we should have the kids transcribe ancient Latin liturgical texts as their sole form of entertainment and enrichment?

I don't know the answers to these questions yet. I do feel it is essential, especially these days, for parents to be up to speed on what their kids might encounter in the way of technology.

CNET is a great source for just such an overview of all things cutting edge. Today they posted an intriguing little feature article called "A New Crop of Kids: Generation We."

We Gen X'rs (pretty comfy with technology ourselves) have spawned what CNET describes as a generation that is utterly steeped in all things digital. From a strategist at Minneapolis-based Iconoculture, quoted in the article:

"Parents of Gen We's don't see technology as the enemy and don't need to moderate it as much: They see it (as a way to) help them with parenting. They see it as a bonding experience," Robinson said. "As a kind of media Sherpa, they're encouraging kids to not just absorb what media tells you, but to think about how you can change it."

and

"On the Net, geographic boundaries disappear--a teen can watch a scene in New York, and another teen in Nebraska can watch and comment on that same scene," and they can both create something new, she said. "The Net creates that community aspect."

This article is unabashedly optimistic about the future of what others are more cautiously calling "The Image Culture" (more on that later). I'd love to hear comments. Is modern technology (let's broadly define it as TV, Film, Video Games, Mobile Devices and the Internet) a part of your parenting in some way? Do you agree with this article's seemingly rosey conclusion, or is there something more subtle happening to the parent-child relationship, or even to children's brains themselves?