As a pro, the 3-year old swipes right.... on through the eyes of a child

The toddler in the stroller swipes right.
His eyes focused on the screen, his legs crossed, and his little finger sliding across the glossy screen. He seems totally engrossed in what he is doing. 

The way he maneuvers his little finger at speed and with such self-assurance is impressive.

I have no idea what he is looking at, but I am hoping that he is playing some sort of benign game.

20 years ago he may have been playing with a toy of some kind,
and perhaps he still does when he is not sitting in his stroller, but seeing the little boy playing like a pro on the I-thingy gave birth to a very dark thought in me: a portal, the internet can be likened to a portal. (Portal, as in a gateway into ......somewhere else)

After having watched numerous documentaries on all matter of things "cyber", it has dawned on me that once we step into/through the portal, we render ourselves inadvertently vulnerable to all sorts of "attacks".
Enter the Darknet.

The fact that there even is a "Darknet" is scary enough in my book, but that there is no way of shutting it down, is scarier still methinks.

So, I stand corrected, there are two portals; one for us digitally challenged who enjoy the "good" bits as in; access to benign info, books, music, shows, connecting with others, etc.etc. and are totally clueless about "coding".
For people who are digitally savvy and have coding skills, there is also the Darknet.
 (Darknet: an overlay network that can be accessed only with specific software, configurations, and using non-standard communication protocols and ports.)

So what can one find on the Darknet? According to those in the know....everything.
Ranging from the less benign and quite innocuous to anything to do with sex-slaves, under-age sex-slaves, how to make weapons, drugs, arrange a hit on someone, launder money, join extreme groups, etc.etc.etc. can be accessed on the Darknet.
I guess in short, whatever someone may desire but that is illegal in his/her/their country, can be found and bought there. This info lead me to ponder how ingenious human beings seem to be at turning something meant to be helpful and beneficial for mankind, into becoming something malicious and with potentially disastrous outcomes.
 (If you have seen the TV-series "Stranger Things", then you will understand what I mean when I say that the way I see it, the Darknet is like "the Upside Down".  This "alternate dimension" eventually expands out of its portal and starts to affect the "normal" dimension (what we call reality) in many and varied nasty ways.)
For a child, being able to distinguish between what is "real" and what is "made up", is not clear-cut. Children are very good at using their imagination and bring to "life" fairies and unicorns, invisible friends and bogeymen. Through the eyes of a child many things are possible, although deemed impossible by adults: no, the cape will not make you invisible, no, wearing a Spiderman costume will not make you able to shoot webs from your hands, no, you can't fly although you are wearing a Superman costume, no, wearing fairy wings will not make you Tinkerbell, and then the big one...Santa is not real, he doesn't live at the North Pole and he does not bring you gifts.....we, your mommy and daddy, do.
Although it varies, according to research, it seems children between the ages of 3-5 begin to learn the difference between reality and fantasy.

I guess it would be fair to say that the line differentiating between fantasy and "reality" becomes hardened as a child grows, and is instructed on all things "real" by his/her primary caretaker/s (parents, teachers, friends, siblings etc.) and his/her own experiences in life. 

Thinking of the little boy in the stroller....probably about 3 years old....totally engrossed in his game and what he saw happening on the screen, ........what was he really seeing?

See, here's the dilemma: whatever he saw was "real" in one sense, since he did SEE it with his own eyes, on the other hand, what he saw was not real since the images experienced as real by the boy were in fact binary code. 

              Telling a 3 year old that everything he/she sees on an I-thingy/interface are mere representations of something, not the things themselves, would probably render a blank stare from the child and a "nu-uh, it's not, they are real cos I can see them". 

Computers/I-thingy's and how to use them, are part of most schools curriculum's these days, although by the time a child starts school, (depending on what country) most children already know how to use them.

In my mind, there is no doubt as to how very useful they are and in so many ways, but, there are drawbacks...some we know of and some we are probably yet to discover.

                             Almost stealth-like, hand held computers as in smart phones/tablets, 

seem to have invaded our lives.

These devices are small, easy to carry with one, and most of them have touch screens, which renders them perfect for little fingers to navigate and manipulate whether watching a video, playing a game or having face-time with someone as in a grand parent for example, far away.

The perfect "toy" yeah? 

Children can spend hours upon hours on their I-Thingy's, playing games both educational and non-educational, watching educational/informative programs, interact with their friends, etc.etc. in short, they are entertained....and most of the time....stationary. 

According to some research done at the Seattle's Center for Integrative Brain Research, signs of a problematic use of the internet has shown up in children and young adults, and the research also seem to indicate, that that may also apply to toddlers and infants. 

What they are trying to understand is the impact on young brains by fast-paced media, because what they are seeing, is the development in some of the children and young adults of a compulsive use of these devices.

For all the amazing positives that our I-thingy's offer us, do we really know what the possible long term drawbacks may be for our children?

What does the world look like through the eyes of a child?

Even with filters and locks in place, one click on the "wrong" site and suddenly through the portal floods images that may harm a child for years to come.

Even if the child does not understand what he/she is seeing, it can still potentially leave a scar that may take years to heal.

As adults, we can analyze what we see, we can apply critical thinking skills, we can use logic and reason to determine whether what we see is a hoax or not.....children can not.

Through the eyes of a child, 

seeing his/her parents in the middle of love making may seem as if they are wrestling.

Through the eyes of a child, a rainbow can be magical, a forest enchanted, 

a wardrobe a portal, a daddy or a mommy a super hero, a teddy bear a best friend, 

a cape can turn him or her invisible, rain can be tears, 

carpets magical, and things that go bump in the night, can be monsters.

As long as we interact with our children, play with them, talk with them, read to them, dance with them, go on picnics with them, jump puddles with them, 

listen to music with them, draw with them, 

and listen to them wholeheartedly and intently when they speak with us,..

... although we may have forgotten what it's like to see the world through the eyes of a child, 

they will help us to remember.

"Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter what. If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won't tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff."

(Catherine M. Wallace)