Good Parenting, or High-Tech Cruises?
Some months ago, TechCrunch reported that, on High-Tech cruise ships like the Quantum Of The Sea, “Wi-Fi is fast and it’s everywhere” for one specific reason that I really don’t like .
“The real goal here is to offer… constant connectivity for always-on passengers – namely the kids of older passengers. While Mom and Mom enjoy a fine tipple on the fo’c’s’le, kids can keep texting. It’s a sad compromise but one necessary to keep nervous gadget lovers happy on vacation."
Of course, all kids may, and in general should, do wonders, or just have fun, with smartphones and tablet, and we can discuss some other day what is the right age to start doing that, or how dumb is to believe they need no help because “they are digital natives, you know”. But in any case, proposals like the one above seem equivalent to me to:
you were unable to talk with your kids at home. Don’t use a vacation to fix that problem, just make it worse.
Cruises like those on Quantum of the Seas are High-Tech, no doubt. Smart, they seem not, from a parenting point of view at least.
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