Thursday, March 22, 2012

The tech magnet

So, I am not the most techy person, but I do have a fair bit of cool technological gizmos. And I tend to take them with me when I go places--GPS, laptop, phone, camera, iPod. (Yeah, that is about the extent of my technological coolness. And the iPod? It's a 4-year old touch. Does that make it less cool? It was very cool 4 years ago). A couple of weekends ago, I went to my sister's. Now, she has 5 kids, the youngest of whom is in the 3ish range. And loves tech gadgets. And calls the iPod "the other phone". And asks me, in his very cute almost 3ish way, "Can I play with your other phone?" And I am a sucker, so I let him. (Probably good that he's into the other phone, now that he's figured out how to slide open my actual phone. He once dialed 555-555-555-555555. I don't want to see what else he might dial). He also develops this unusual burning desire to sit on my lap when I have my laptop out. I'm not fooled. It's not because he wants to snuggle with me. He wants to play with the laptop. (I'm less of a sucker for this trick).

Back to the story. So, I went to visit, and he asked if he could play with my other phone. And I pulled it out and gave it to him. No other kids in sight. Within seconds, he was surrounded by siblings trying to coach him or coax the iPod out of his hands. It was fascinating. And I saw the same phenomenon in church the next day. Someone in the row in front of us had an iPad, and as soon as they noticed, there was this migration to the vicinity of the iPad, and hovering over the bench.

I think that scientists need to research this effect, and find a way to harness the magnetic power of technology. It has potential.

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