You don’t need me to tell you how different the world has become since then, in just one generation the way our species operates has been entirely upgraded to digital. This means parents today are raising their children in a completely different environment to how they were raised themselves.

This comes with its benefits, parents today needn’t worry about ‘are we there yet’ plaguing long journeys, the kids are too busy on their iPads watching last night’s X-factor on long drives. In fact, research by Makersacademy.com has just found that millions of children are able to operate a TV remote control before they can recite the alphabet. There is no doubt technology will play a huge role in the future and everyone, children and adults need to keep up or face being left behind.

When it comes to keeping up, kids seem to be doing a better job than the adults. In fact, one in 10 parents admit their little ones have shown them how to use a smartphone. Now my theory here is that the reason for this is that when we are young we get a good understanding of technology and are actually taught how to use it but then the technology upgrades so quickly that our education fast becomes outdated.

I’m 25 and I already feel like Apple is personally victimising me with updates that each time mean I know less and less about how to use my phone. Do we really have time to keep adjusting to new ways of doing things every time a tech giant decides they need a new edge over a competitor?

Unfortunately, the issues with being left behind have consequences bigger than sending bad Snapchats or not being able to delete images stored in The Cloud.

The research also found that more than half of parents admit they struggle to support their kids with their homework, with three-quarters resorting to using the internet. It seems that as technology place an ever bigger role in kids’ lives and education turning to mum and dad for help is becoming a more irrelevant solution to tricky homework.

Outside of their parental role technology is also an issue when it comes to job prospects. The research  found that two-thirds of people are worried they will become increasingly unemployable because of the increasingly swift advances in technology.

The truth is, experience used to make you credible in a role but nowadays understanding new technology and being able to predict its development and ways to apply it can make you even more valuable. One area we are all seeing becoming more important is coding. Three in five people have no idea how to use computer code – and over a third don’t even know what coding is. This is worrying seen as it is becoming one of the main skills employers look for on a CV.

Kids these days are being taught it in schools and companies value it so much they are paying for their employees to take a course in it.

It seems that whether we have time for it or not we all are going to have to make more of an effort to learn how to use new technology. The kids today are going to grow up and when they do they are going to be able to do our jobs better simply because of technology.

They will be able to replace entire companies because they will become outdated and unable to compete. I myself am even considering taking a cause to me it’s not just about keeping up, technology can do some remarkable thing and if I can master it I can’t help but think that I might be able to live my life more efficiently.

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It’s not an uncommon use of time for young boys. Cartoon Network recently found that the modern boy aged 6-12 spends a total of 29 days and nine hours a year playing video games.

However, a lot of my friends never grew out of this and still spend many hours a week playing video games. Whilst I wouldn’t spend money on games councils now I have on occasion got in to games on my phone, I spent two years leveling up on Temple Run 2 and more recently I’ve turned Pokémon master on Pokémon Go.

I feel like I have a good balance though, I only play these games when I’m traveling. I never find myself being antisocial to play, yet so many people I know will stay in on a Saturday night because they are playing a game. Why bother with the hassle of getting ready, traveling and spending money for a dance with strangers when you could be ridding (the virtual) world of deadly assassins?

It got me to thinking, how much time are we spending in the virtual world? And more importantly, is it healthy?

One thing we must explore is that gaming has evolved in recent years. It’s not a 40-year-old man alone in his mother’s basement with his PS1 anymore. It’s friends on multi-player games, talking through headpieces and achieving missions together. It’s escapism but it’s no longer lonely escapism, its doing things with your friends and making friends through gaming.

The type of people who game has also changed, It’s not about reclusiveness it’s actually sociable people finding new technology to socialize and interact together – just on a digital platform. Think Facebook with zombies.

So many games also allow us to live out our fantasies, take Ben 10 which the kids love these days, its new series airs on Cartoon Network on Saturdays at 10am but the fun doesn’t end there. Kids can now play the game and put themselves in the driver’s seat. It mirrors all technology now which puts emphasis on interaction. As a generation we are no longer content just watching the action, we want to be part of it and gaming fulfils that need.

When it comes to the question of are we spending too much time on games I guess you could argue it’s just like any other hobby. Nowadays we are all too quick to overanalyse our relationship with and screen. Are we spending too much time looking at screens? Are kids spending too much time on screens? It’s endless. But replace the word games console with book and suddenly you have a very different reaction.

Spend as much time as you want with a book, cancel on your friends miss your wedding. Books have been around for centuries and we love them, they have no stigma of being unhealthy attached to them. It’s in our nature to be wary of the new, it’s how our species has survived so long but at the end of the day if you aren’t going to criticise someone for spending three hours reading a book you can’t get on your high horse when people spend three hours on a video game.

We all have different interests and we shouldn’t give people a hard time over their hobbies.

The post Gaming – Antisocial or 21st Century Fun? appeared first on Mozbot.co.uk.

A third of Brits value their digital photos and videos more than their CAR, and 40 per cent think they are more important than their credit card, wallet, or laptop.

But one in five people NEVER back up videos or photos, meaning if a device fails or is stolen they could lose them forever.

The survey of 2,000 people by mobile and anti-malware experts BullGuard looked at their habits when it comes to backing up data.

Bullguard CEO Paul Lipman said: “The study shows just how much we depend on pictures and videos to ensure we remember major life moments.

“Thanks to the improvements in digital technology such as smartphones, it’s easier than ever to document important memories. However, if something was to happen to the device they are stored on and the precious photos and videos weren’t backed up, we may never get to see them again.”

On average, Brits have 1,937 photos and 84 videos each stored on their computers and other devices, and they will take 35 pictures and 13 videos during a typical month.

Over half of those surveyed are concerned they will lose a photo or video footage in the future, while 30 per cent have already suffered the loss of a precious memory.
In 23 per cent of cases this happened due to a lost or misplaced device. A hardware failure (41 per cent), deleted by accident (25 per cent) and theft (12 per cent) were also common causes for loss.

Despite this, BullGuard’s survey showed that almost a third ‘don’t think about’ backing up digital photos and videos, and 33 per cent just don’t get around to it.

A quarter will back up these files just once a month, while 15 per cent do it only once a year. And interestingly, while 55 per cent now use cloud storage services, just 13 per cent completely trust them to keep their data safe.

“Backing up any form of data is a laborious task that is often forgotten about or put off in our busy day-to-day lives,” Lipman continued.

“But when it comes to things like digital photos, losing memories of treasured times that can be difficult or impossible to replace really hits home. It’s a timely reminder of the fact that no matter how busy we are, it’s always a good idea to find a bit of time to safeguard our most treasured possessions.”

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