How Do We Maintain A Childlike Curiosity

I was at Starbucks when two parents started talking about their children and technology. I’m sure you’ve heard similar conversations. They go something like this: “These kids today are so smart with technology. My 5-year-old daughter taught me how to use my iPhone! I guess it’s because these kids grow up with technology.”

Is that really why kids are so good with technology? They grew up with it? I think adults underestimate how knowledgeable they are about technology. They’ve grown up with it, just in different ways. They grew up with TV and VCR, is DVD really so different?

No, the reason that kids are so “smart” with technology is that they’re curious. And also, they’re not afraid.

I remember when my mom bought our first computer. I was 13, and dial-up was where it was at! I didn’t know anything about computers; I’d seldom had an opportunity to use one. But it didn’t take me long to figure out what I was doing because I jumped in and learned. Users manual? I don’t need no stinkin’ users manual!

My mom, on the other hand, waited for me to figure things out and explain them to her. She had a hesitation, she was afraid. I remember one time, my mom asked me how to do something on the computer. I cannot remember the exact task, but she had asked me how to do it a million times. I asked her how she thought she should execute the task. And she told me exactly how to do it. See, she knew what to do but lacked the confidence to rely on herself. She was afraid to try anything, for fear that she might cause the computer to lock down or blow up.

To use the excuse that I was “born surrounded with technology” is absurd. My mom was always a laggard. That’s not an insult, it’s just the truth. We didn’t get new, trendy gadgets while they were still hot and fresh. While you can say that I grew up with TV and VCR, I’d argue that my mom actually had more years and experience with the same technology!

So, it’s not a lack of familiarity that holds us behind when it comes to throwing out the old and welcoming the new. It’s fear, and a lack of curiosity. We get set in our ways and stop to wonder what the world could be like if it were different. We merely accept things as they are and we stop dreaming.

Now, I want to ask you a question that is completely rhetorical — How do we maintain a childlike curiosity? How do we remind ourselves that while most changes may bring about a different world, they will not bring about the end of the world?

Tagged as: change, curiosity