As a parent of young children, I walk a fine line between the needs of technology and the wants of modern day children.   In order to better understand technology and how it effects/benefits my children, I previewed two public service announcements (PSA) to help me in this endeavor.

The first PSA I viewed, The Essay Movie,  showed the importance of innovation and ideas.   As the young girls in the PSA was brought before more and more people in “authority” who assessed her competence, she never lost sight of her vision of SMART phones, even as a young girl in (what appeared to be) the early 1950’s.  The PSA cleverly addressed those of us who are set in our ways and are able to look outside of the box, to embrace the innovative, the dreamers.  Rather than stifle them, the PSA encourages us to encourage them as one never knows where the next idea will come.  As a parent, I feel that this ad was very effective.   As a parent, I am often quick to judge or slow to come on board to ideas that are out of my realm of understanding.   Using a “flashback” to show the absurdity in the past of a device I cannot do without in the present, effectively woke me up to the idea that the dreams of today are the reality of tomorrow.

The second PSA I watched, We Think, focused on the unifying nature of the internet.  We as a people work together to produce and share our information, creating a world that is open to all.   The PSA felt as if it were targeting like minded people, who believed in the power of the internet and what could be globally.  I was not a fan of this PSA.   I think that there probably was significant information to be presented, yet it was not conveyed in a meaningful way.   The black and white nature, the line drawings to the sleep inducing music, I was not drawn to the message.  I was not engaged as I was with the previous PSA.  I made no personal connections.   I would not watch it again, nor would I probably visit the web site.  I think the wrong platform was chosen to disseminate this material.