28 Dec, 2011
Yes, at 40 years of age now, I am officially an old timer, who spools on for endless hours discussing the good old days and how we didn’t have all this newfangled technology when I was a kid. We pushed a barrel tie around with a stick, and put on pantomime plays inside of a box for fun. I actually knew what it was like to see sunlight and play outside with real friends.
Okay, so that is a bit of exaggeration on my part, but it is interesting to see how Christmas gifts have changed from when I was a kid in the 70’s. For me, Christmas was about Star Wars figures, board games, and maybe an electronic tabletop version of battleship that was skinned with a Star Wars theme. So imagine my shock when I saw my son’s Christmas list this year. There were no board games, clothes or any other normal gift that I would expect a 10 year old to have on their list. No, instead I was greeted with three things, and I quote – My own PS3 because Dad hogs the one on the main TV, GameStop gift cards for that new PS3 and money.
So my 10 year old wanted a $300 console, gift cards to get some games and cash if all else fails. I understand that kids today are pummeled with far more tech than I could have even imagined when I was ten. My wife mentioned that a friend of hers from work had bought a new iPad 2 for her eight year old, because it was on the top of her list. Yes, an eight year old has an iPad 2 and I do not.
It’s funny, because all of this technology seems to be herding our young children into the house and not outside where they can play, get into mischief and come in smelling like a wet dog after sweating for a day. My son does get outside, but it is less so than it was say two years ago as he has become more acclimated with gaming. Now he has his own gamertag on the Xbox 360 and PS3 and searches for ways to boost his Gamerscore rather than working on his outside shot in basketball.
Don’t get me wrong, I love having a child that enjoys my passion, and if he is in the house playing games, it is less time he could be getting into serious trouble. But as a parent, it is troublesome as you have to make serious investments in products may or may not be used after a couple of months. With a PS3, I don’t see that happening, as it has multiple uses, but imagine buying a 3DS that sits on a shelf after the initial month, because it has fallen out of favor with the child. Or an iPad 2 that no longer works because it was dropped two days after it was purchased. Kids nowadays want serious hardware and it costs a lot of money to make those dreams happen during the holidays.
So how did my son do after all of this rambling? Well, he did not get a PS3 from me or Santa, but he did get a new basketball, some basketball shorts, an electronic Monopoly game that he loves, and a $50 GameStop card that he wanted. He still ended up getting his PS3 as he got $300 in cash and gift cards and traded his PSP (from a Christmas two years ago that was no longer used) and got the PS3 that came with three Harry Potter movies, three games, and a PlayStation Plus membership for a year and still walked out with $12 in his pocket. Not too shabby.
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