A Message to My Nephew and Niece
Introduction
I have a younger sister abroad who has a son and a daughter. They are in middle school and high school respectively. They belong to the younger generation of the modern day. How they have advantages over their lives compared to ours at their age is noteworthy. I want to bring this to the attention of my lovely nephew and niece through the message of this hub.
If nephews and nieces were jewels, I would have the most beautiful gems ever...
— Anonymous
My Lovely Nephew and Niece
Family Photo Album
Benefits of the Internet, Computer and Smartphone My Nephew and Niece Now Enjoy
Without the internet, life now is useless. It is the mainstream of life itself. With the help of the internet, they can order food from restaurants and have them directly delivered to their homes.
They can get ideas of their home assignments from school using the mighty reign of the internet. They can open accounts on Facebook and Gmail and interact solo or in groups with their friends.
They will need a computer, laptop, iPad, or TAB to access the internet. These come in various shapes and sizes, and they can use one or more of these according to their convenience.
Smartphones help them to contact parents when they are delaying in picking them up from school or a birthday party.
Furthermore, on large computer screens at home, they can watch movies or funny cartoons of their choice.
With a printer and scanner attached to their computer, they can print or scan documents and photos.
Furthermore, they can upload digital photos from cameras on to their computers and keep them in a safe place.
With smartphones, they can take selfies in the various places they visit and capture memorable moments. They can upload these photos to their computers using connectors to USB ports.
They can ask their parents to buy them flash drives or hard drives and carry information on documents or music files or both inside them and upload them to computers as when needed. In the case of music files, they can play music in Windows Media Player on their computers, listen to them and enjoy while they do other household chores. They can also hear music themselves on headphones or earphones.
How Our Fate Was Disadvantaged at Their Age
When we were in middle and high schools, there was no internet, computer or smartphone. We just had to be patient to look for our parents to pick us up from school or a birthday party.
For orders from restaurants, we had to go there and have a feast. There were no home delivery services.
We had to rely on our parents for help with our home assignments from school. And sometimes they scolded us bitterly for not understanding something soon enough.
Facebook, Gmail, the internet, computers, cell phones, and smartphones were all nonexistent. We didn’t have all these facilities. Life was simpler, and we went out to amusement parks or recreational centers to enjoy life.
However, we had radio, TV and non-digital cameras. Through radios, we could hear music, songs, movie dialogues, and news. There weren’t many channels on TV, and we mainly watched selective movies and cartoons. VCRs also came to life then, which we could attach to the TV and watch movies at our convenient times via VCR cassettes.
Non-digital cameras needed some experience and knowledge to take photographs. My Dad had that experience and took lots of photos wherever we went sightseeing and traveling. He set everything on the camera and asked us to just click on it to take photos of Mom and Dad together.
Conclusion
So, my dear nephew and niece, we were underprivileged and ignorant about many of the modern day amenities and benefits at your age. On the other hand, we had more cozy family times together.
Therefore, my message to you would be yes, enjoy life with all modern day facilities but also remember to be nice and kind to your parents, grandparents and family friends who are not so familiar with the technology.
Spend as much family time as you can despite technological facilities because they may seem little things now but if they disappear from your life, you will feel they were big things and regret a lot. It would be too late to turn back the clock.
So this is the moment to strike a balance between technology time and family time.
This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.
© 2020 Rosina S Khan
I Would Love to Hear Your Comments on This Hub in the Comments Section Below.
Rosina S Khan (author) on November 09, 2020:
There isn't a good solution for the problem, Denise, other than parents maintaining some sort of control and discipline over their children who are inclined to listen to them.
Denise McGill from Fresno CA on November 08, 2020:
I have found that although the internet has some really good advantages, it also has become a terrible temptation to experiment with things that young people shouldn't be exposed to such as porn. I have some family members whose children were so addicted they began stealing devices (theirs were taken by the mother to prevent further exposure) and then hacking past the parental firewalls. It has become a dilemma that many parents are faced with. I wish there was a good answer for this problem.
Blessings,
Denise
Rosina S Khan (author) on September 24, 2020:
Thank you for heeding my advice, Denise.
Denise McGill from Fresno CA on September 24, 2020:
Good advice. I would like to tell my grandchildren that very thing.
Blessings,
Denise
Rosina S Khan (author) on January 20, 2020:
Miranda, I agree with you that we should take advantage of the good benefits of technology. But when it replaces our relationships with people, we should stop doing so. What I wrote here is using too much technology of everything, my nephew and niece (and the younger generation) do not get enough of family time. I asked them to enjoy more of cozy family time. That's it. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Miranda Fox from New York, New York on January 20, 2020:
Technology should not replace relationships with people. If people only you technology to make life easier, such as travel, house chores, medicine, and education that's great. But when people start to use it to replace relationships with people and spirituality than that becomes a problem.
Rosina S Khan (author) on January 15, 2020:
I am glad you found value in my article. Thank you for your kind comment. Really appreciated, Dora.
Dora Weithers from The Caribbean on January 15, 2020:
"We were underprivileged and ignorant about many of the modern day amenities and benefits at your age. On the other hand, we had more cozy family times together." This is true of many families including mine. Your nephew and niece are blessed to have your guiding counsel and you effort to build a sense of family.
Rosina S Khan (author) on January 12, 2020:
As with everything, technology has upsides and downsides which we must be aware of. I am glad you like my article. Best wishes for a belated happy new year, Jennifer.
Jennifer Ott from LONG BEACH on January 12, 2020:
Great article. Social media and technology are a double-edged sword. It can be great for expanding our own boundaries, yet it opens up so many issues. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Rosina S Khan (author) on January 07, 2020:
Yes, Brenda, today's kids are so much into technology that they have no time for family. I was, therefore, wondering if a written message addressed to my nephew and niece could help them realize where they were blundering. Anyways, thank you for your sentiment about this article. Really appreciated!
BRENDA ARLEDGE from Washington Court House on January 07, 2020:
Rosina,
This is so true.
The kids today are a bit spoiled compared to my day.
I can see the benefits. However, I can see the tremendous loss.
There is no family time anymore...usually no family meal times to gather without cell phones near by for distractions.
I think i would choose the simpler life, but I fear your article will be on deaf ears.
I have a fifteen yr old niece who wouldnt care to listen.
I am set in old ways according to her.
Great write.
Rosina S Khan (author) on January 07, 2020:
Manatita, I intentionally left out the dangers of technology in the message to my nephew and niece because I already had written an article titled, "How Technologies Are Influencing Us Negatively and Ways to Rectify Them" which you will find in my profile. I just didn't want to repeat it in this message. The link for the mentioned article is:
https://discover.hubpages.com/technology/New-Techn...
Thank you for reading and commenting.
manatita44 from london on January 07, 2020:
I have written a piece on the family and yes family time is awesome! You made us aware of the benefits of the new age, which is great, but did not touch on its dangers to your niece and nephew. That's increasingly important these days. Significant conclusion.
Rosina S Khan (author) on January 07, 2020:
Thank you, Lorna for your constructive and valuable comment. I intend to jump in the earliest opportunity to take them for a day out without phones and computers. They love their Big Aunt, and so they shouldn't be too hard to convince.
Lorna Lamon on January 07, 2020:
An excellent article Rosina and one that is so current. Even though technology has made it easier for us to connect, unfortunately we have disconnected from what really matters. I still try to remain connected in other more meaningful ways and enjoy face to face conversations which are more authentic. If I am not working I tend to stay away from my computer as much as possible and remember how it used to be. I think your nephew and niece would benefit from a day without their phones or computers, however, you might have a hard job convincing them.
Rosina S Khan (author) on January 06, 2020:
Good idea, Donna. I intend to do so at the earliest convenience and see how it goes. Yes, you are right- in those good old times, family bonding was close, and it meant everything to everyone. Thank you for reading.
Donna L Stoycoff from Hollister, California on January 06, 2020:
Rosina, great hub. I would do a test with your niece and nephew. Give them an experience they will never forget.. Take them on a day out, no cell phones, or music devices, no laptops or tablets. Go sightseeing, see how good a picnic feels in nature, take a hike on a trail and stuff like that. I never felt like I was underprivileged because I didn't know what it was I was missings... those were good old days where life was simple, families were close and the family unit meant everything to each and every family member!
Blessings,
Donna Rayne
