Writen by Ted Moryto
I was watching CBS 60 Minutes and they had an article on Echo Boomers. A prominent professor and pediatrician was told by a fortune 500 executive that the thing that struck him most about the new generation coming into the workforce, was their lack of long term vision. He said that they treated business like a video game, where they would only pursue a goal if there was the reward of immediate results. He also commented that today's young employees cannot proceed in a step wise fashion, cannot accomplish a task in a methodical way. I immediately drew a connection between this attitude and the video game generation. I see kids all the time playing video games by pushing buttons randomly in hopes of scoring points.
The pediatrician noted that the echo boomers had been coddled by their parents, driven to soccer practice, provided with trophies for participating. He had observed that when left to play by themselves without adult organization, they were often lost.
I couldn't help but think of the Enron scandal, where earnings were fabricated to meet the expectations of the market. I know those involved in Enron are of an earlier generation, but are we teaching similar behaviour through video games. Are we teaching our children that short term results are what matter. If so, how will we ever reach goals like colonizing outerspace, or eliminating global warming.
Educational toys have always been a mainstay of my children's fun and games. We often use science kits and science toys as fun activities on a rainy day. My children are still impulsive, but they are also prepared to make sacrifices for something that excites them.
I hope video games are a phase, for my great grandchildren's sake.
Ted Moryto is an engineer, father and owner of Brain Waves Educational Toys Canada where you can find hundreds of fascinating educational toys, games and science kits.
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