Facetime in some form or fashion has been around for awhile - some call it Skype, some call it Web Cam. We tried it several times throughout the years to video chat with grandparents over the computer, but to be honest, we have never been very good at remembering to do it. Instead, we pass the phone from kid to kid so each one has a chance to talk, or in some cases when they were very little not talk at all and be prompted by us to, "say something to Mimi, tell her what you did today. Come on, talk."
In this new world where almost every child I see has some electronic device in his or her hands, this idea of FACETIME is changing. Not for me - I still don't like to be seen while chatting. I'm much too self-conscious. I'm always reminded of the Friends episode when Monica is dating Pete, the millionaire, or trillionaire and while at his house, the phone rings and out pops a live video feed of him talking to her. Back then, what, just 10 years ago, that was crazy. That was Star Trek or Star Wars, or Jetsons or whichever futuristic show had video phone calls. But now, it's so prevalent and fast becoming just part of life. At least for the my kids.
Here's the story:
I'm in the car and my cell phone text beeps. It's a message from a little girl in Lydia's class saying that she was texting from her mini Ipad.
A few minutes later, I get a Facetime request. I didn't know what to do. Up until now, we've only received a Facetime call from Grammie. I passed the phone to Lydia who proceeded to Facetime her friend like a pro. She talked all the way to our destination.
The next night, I get the same Facetime request, only at home. Lydia takes my phone and runs through the house showing her friend her room and her brother's room and her dream lite, and her dinner plate. She wasn't self-conscious. She wasn't concerned about minutes. She wasn't worried about how quickly technology was taking over our lives. She just knew she had a captive audience on the phone who she could share a glimpse of her little life. And she did it so proudly. If it were me, I wouldn't be running around showing off my house. Instead I'd be apologizing for the stacks of paper, the dust, the dirty clothes.
I found out later Lydia's friend's mom (catch that) did NOT know she had FACETIME'd her classmate and was in a bit in deep water for it. I assured the mom that it was innocent, sweet and actually quite entertaining.
I've always been slow to jump on any technological bandwagon. Ask my college roommate about that one. She was the first person I'd ever known to have a computer in her dorm room. And while she was embarking into this whole world of Electronic Mail, I was proudly calling myself Amish and writing letters. But now it's 18 or so years later and I've graduated to the world of tech-literate, and I'm okay with it, but I"m not so sure I have in my mom toolbox all the things I need to prepare my kids for what is to come - internet, privacy, safety, parent blocking, social sites, stalkers, etc. etc. And it may be my college tech phobia coming to the surface, but I will admit, I could take a few Amish-like years in our house. And while you probably love your Iphone, your Kindle, your Nook or your Ipad and couldn't live without it, I know deep down you might just agree.
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