iPhone 4G - Should I or Should I Not?

For someone like me who owns 2 blogs, checks emails almost everyday, has a twitter account and is active in Facebook, an iPhone 4G might seems like a really good Christmas present. Mr Hubby has been meaning to buy me a iPhone, but I kept saying no. He must be feeling quite puzzled.

But why not?

Don't be mistaken, I am not boycotting Apple, in fact, I would love to be an iPhone owner but I am putting up the greatest resistant against having another I.T related device at home. We already have a PC with 2 flat-screen monitors, 1 notebook, a O2 and a HTC smartphone which had 'retired' ever since Mr Hubby upgraded to the latest iPhone 4G. He has a company laptop and I, too, have a company laptop. That is AN AWFUL LOT of gadgets for the only two computer literate person at home.

So what?

For some parents, it might be alright to plant their children in front of the television all day long, they might let their children play computer or video games whenever they are not in school. They might think it's so cool to buy an iPad to keep their children entertained or even start a Facebook account for their preschooler. But I certainly would not want to join the league of these parents.

I believe a very small amount of exposure to mobile phones, computers or Internet in a controlled situation can be good for young children. However, most parents made the grave mistake of using I.T devices as their digital nannies, after seeing how their children are so drawn to one.

No doubt, I would love to have all of that peace and quiet moment but somehow I think it is wrong to leave parenting to a piece of artificial intelligence that teaches no emotions nor manners.

I have read report that shows that these info-technologies can be very addictive, while it affects almost anybody, it is particularly detrimental for children. The risk, they say, is that developing brains can become more easily habituated than that of those matured brain cells; so with Internet surfing and early exposure to digital media, the young minds are conditioned to constantly switch tasks, thus it is less able to sustain attention.

Just look at the rising numbers of young children with ADHD after the reign of the digital era. These brains are wired to distraction which makes them harder to concentrate and find it impossible to enjoy the harvest of deferred gratification.

Of course, I also read about how some toddlers and preschoolers' online games, which are very interactive and have strong educational content, can have positive effects building a child’s self-esteem and helps the child learns better.

Exposing young minds to computers or mobile phones is so controversial.  But in my opinion, digital media will always remain as a double-edge sword.

I don't know about you, but I think I would like to raise my kids to be nature-loving, out-going and learning through play and books, the more traditional way. I feel that way, they can be healthier physically as well as psychologically.

I hate to imagine that I would come home from work one day, in the future, to see Laetitia viewing Facebook and not storybook or Leonitus surrounded by Apple gadgets but is apathy about how an apple tree looks like. Or worst, to see both my children addicted to living their lives out only in the virtual world, like the tragedy of the Korean couple who were so obsessed with online gaming that they starve their baby to death.

Meanwhile, I can still put up with my 'old-school' SonyEricsson mobile phone, while I decide what Christmas present do I really want from Mr Hubby.

Hmmm... an iPhone 4 would really be wonderful, wouldn't it. That's my love-hate relationship with the modern technology.