Áron Kaposvári
The sun begins to set, covering the village in darkness, which forced children to stop playing and come inside. Having passed his prime, Henry has enough energy and mood only for reading. He has always enjoyed this pastime, so he has a small “library” in his room. That’s what his family called his book collection. The books are ordered by topic. He has every type of book, ranging from educational books through stories and adventures to science fiction (although he isn’t so fond of sci-fi, being a technophobe). All of his relatives can use a smartphone except for him. Not to mention his grandson, Christopher, who is considered an expert. The little boy, though he’s just turned twelve, already has his own computer, which provides him with new entertainment opportunities for evenings, nights, midnights, and I hope I can’t continue my list. I still remember how I watched him playing a game as a spider on the wall. But let’s not get distracted because as I notice our little boy is going to have a talk with his grandfather, Henry. Come and follow me, I believe it will be an entertaining event.
“Hey, grandpa! How was your day today?” asked Christopher.
“Oh, my dear grandson!” started Henry. “Nothing special, I talked with our neighbours, solved some puzzles, listened to the radio and continued my book I am currently reading. And you? I saw the weather was pretty nice, I suppose you were playing outside.”
“Well, it’s true that it was sunny, but an important update came out in my favorite computer game and I couldn’t wait a minute longer to try it out.”
“So you didn’t even play with your friends? I saw them through the window playing a football match in the park. They aren’t beginners in this sport, I have to admit,” said Henry.
“They can’t have been my friends, as we played together inside.”
“Wait, what do you mean by inside? I didn’t see any of them here and didn’t meet you at home the whole day.”
“You don’t understand that, grandpa. We were connected virtually. We played on the computer, the game I just mentioned a couple of minutes ago.” explained Christopher.
“But—” started his grandfather, but his grandson interrupted him.
“You are a technophobe and don’t want to be open to the modern world. On Wednesday I tried to teach you how to use a smartphone but you said you just didn’t understand. You stayed in your backward, old-fashioned world with your age.”
“That wasn’t nice of you, Christopher. And anyway, I am really open to innovations, it was only you who explained it in the wrong and difficult way, and it was too fast, too. So I would appreciate it if you would try again.”
“Okay, I’m in! Let’s get started,” said Christopher cheerfully, hoping that his grandfather would finally improve. “So this is my iPhone. Got it? Great. Then I touch its screen and it will show the time with this wonderful background. And when I—” he continued with increasing enthusiasm, as it gave him the feeling of knowing everything.
Maybe this is the topic he knows best. For school lessons, he never learns anything, and that’s why this opportunity is so unusual for him. By the way, I could sympathise with both of them. On the one hand, I agree with Christopher that the world moves on and we must adapt to it. On the other hand, I understand Henry because we get used to what we experienced in our childhood, thus later we feel alienated from revolutionary changes.
Moreover, considering computers and other electronic devices, they can be highly unhealthy for several reasons. Mainly because they hurt the eyes and sitting there for hours isn’t good for the back. They also cause addiction, which forces the child to stay there, play there, watch the monitor all day, and thus ruin his own health. Oh, but unfortunately, I forgot that the ”teaching” didn’t stop around us, so we had better return to the action.
“You understand now, don’t you?” asked Christopher.
“This way was much better, Christopher, thank you. Therefore I will forgive what you said about me, and won’t tell it to your parents.”
“Such a relief! Thank you very much! But I must hurry as my series is starting soon, ” he said.
“Well then, good night!” said Henry.
“Goodnight, grandpa!” waved Christopher before he left.
Sadly, it looks like we missed the main part. Not a problem! Now I will join Christopher, and tomorrow I’ll tell you everything. Bye for now!