The truth is every generation has to deal with some new technological advance that threatens to hijack dinnertime, stunt interpersonal skills, fry our brains, destroy our eyesight or otherwise subvert our thoughts. For my generation it was the TV. My parents; the Radio. There was even a time when reading a book was considered dangerous and a threat to parental control. The thing is we evolve. We rant and rave how “back in our day we didn’t have these fancy-schmancy doodads” when really what we had was some other, now archaic, doodad of distraction.
In our house, the policy is simple: If you can’t beat em, join em.
So instead of banning devices, launching tactical nukes into the atmosphere to fry circuits or otherwise fight a losing battle with entropy, we have implemented Family Share Night. Here’s how it works:
First you need an Apple TV or any other Airplay enabled device connected to a TV within view of the dining room table. Next, invite the children to “share” a video, song, meme, whatever it is they are toiling over endlessly on their devices. We the adults even join in to show them that we aren’t too outmoded. To keep things interesting we designate various “themed nights”. Throwback Thursday, 80’s Cheese Night, Scary Movie Trailer, Adorable Pet Video, the possibilities are endless.
This is essentially the modern answer to the always dreaded “what’s new in your life”. Through technology we are granted direct access to our teenager’s favorite music, movies and other media. We have an unobstructed view directly into their sense of humor, their hopes, dreams, fears and their overall outlook on life. Best of all, we don’t have to beg for it. We don’t have to hack their accounts, skim their messages or survey their browser history. They willingly share it all!
Family Share Night has been the catalyst for some pretty intense discussions. Through videos and music we’ve addressed such topics as alienation, bullying, animal neglect, equal rights and even sexual abuse. The topics aren’t “scheduled” or forced, they just arise naturally when the situations dictate.
We’ve been doing this for over a year now and we’ve learned more during that cherished hour of dinnertime than we do the rest of the day. By showing interest and being active participants in the media they consume we’ve managed to champion these distractions by first embracing then absorbing them into our collective family cultural.
Mannino Acid 