Working as a babysitter, parents constantly tell me to limit their children’s screen time. They worry that their kids will miss out on playing tag and getting mosquito bites if they are plopped in front of a television for too long. While I understand the basis of their concerns, electronics are not a threat; they are not going to replace the thrill of running through a sprinkler or rolling down the tallest hill the neighborhood.
Of course, this fear of technology is relatively new. Over the past decade or so, there has been an undeniable increase in technological innovations, particularly of portable technological innovations (i.e. smartphones and smartwatches). With these changes comes the fear that we, as humans, are no longer experiencing the beauty and magnificence of nature, but are instead spending our days squinting at tiny, overly-bright iPhone screens. We are checking Twitter while obliviously walking past gorgeous sunsets and Snapchating our friends instead of breathing in the salty beach air. We are missing out. So parents are buying televisions and refusing to let their children watch them, for fear that their kids will one day prefer to look at a picture of the national park instead of hiking through one. I find this fear is absolutely ridiculous.
When I was a kid, I spent mornings watching cartoons and afternoons having lemonade stands. I spent an hour playing flash games on my father’s computer and two hours swimming in my grandmother’s pool. I never missed out on going outside in favor of having my screen time, and I still don’t.
In fact, technology has increased my appreciation for the outdoors. I own a Fitbit. It’s a thin rubber bracelet with a small screen, and it shows me how many steps I’ve taken, calories I’ve burned, and miles I’ve traveled each day. It’s connected to an application on my phone, and, yes, I’m obsessed with it. I’m totally obsessed with this little piece of technology, but it has not detracted from my desire to experience the outdoors. If anything, it has enhanced it. I take more jogs now in order to meet my daily goal of 10,000 steps. I prefer walking to driving my car. Owning this little smartwatch has opened my eyes to all of the opportunities I have to be outside, and it has actually made me take advantage of them.
I also like to take pictures. I’m not good at it, by any means, but I still have an Instagram account and a couple hundred followers. I own a photo-editing application that cost me a hefty ninety-nine cents, and I always have my phone on me in case inspiration strikes. Having a camera on hand while I’m spending time outdoors is a gift; it allows me to not only experience a beautiful sunset at the time it existed, but record it in order to share it with other people as well. Instagram, Snapchat, and other image-sharing applications pair perfectly with the outdoors; they force me to observe nature. Now, I look at nature with the intention to capture it, instead of leaving it behind once I go inside.
The fact is, technology is not the antithesis to the outdoors, and iPhones aren’t going to eclipse taking a stroll through a garden; rather, the two should be integrated together. Technology will continue to progress as time goes on, but it is not taking anything away from the beauty and grace that is already present outside my front door.
And besides, nothing will ever live up to sitting on the beach and watching a sunrise. Even a really high-quality photo of one.