(This Mom2Mom column appears in the April ’16 issue of Augusta Family Magazine.)
AUGUSTA, GA.— Posting a birthday greeting to my son’s Facebook page got me thinking.
Twenty-three years ago there was no Facebook, obviously. But in his lifetime, technology has changed so many things…from the way we communicate with each other to the widespread acceptance of pop-culture trends.
The first one-communication-is easy to measure. Facebook and other social media platforms make it so easy for new parents to share their baby’s milestones.
I love seeing the creative ways they capture the monthly growth photos. Baby propped up with a “One Month” banner, or a chalkboard behind a baby bump announcing “30 weeks!”
What a fun way to document those “baby book” moments! Back in 1993, cute pictures like that required buying lots of film AND then dropping off those used cartridges at the Kodak kiosk in my grocery store parking lot. Remember that?
The idea of taking a picture on a phone, and instantly sending it to a world-wide audience, was incomprehensible. The idea of a phone not attached to a cord was almost as foreign (even the uber-cool car phones had coiled cords). When I was a brand new mom, FAXING was the coolest thing I’d ever seen-haha!
And in 1993, dinosaurs were (NO…not walking the earth!) making their way onto nursery walls and car seat covers, thanks to one friendly purple Barney who sang, “I love you, you love me… we’re a happy fam-i-ly.”
There were other dinosaurs creeping into pop culture, though. Scary-heck, terrifying-lifelike creatures in TV commercials everywhere. Jurassic Park movie trailers probably led to countless nightmares when little eyes innocently watched them. This I know: shielding little ones from television commercials was much easier than shielding kids today from the Internet and social media.
We thought raptors and a T-rex were too much? Moms today have to worry about that other larger-than-life cultural phenom: Kim Kardashian’s nude selfies! According to TMZ and what’s trending in Twitter, they’re everywhere. Cover your kids’ eyes!
With that, I’m wishing my Zackman a Happy Birthday!! (And hey, keep your clothes on.)
Read more Mom2Mom columns here.Click to read Augusta Family Magazine. Artwork by Michael Rushbrook.
